All The Broken Pieces
by Princess Tyler Briefs
Summary: KakaIruKaka, eventually. Tsunade bets Asuma that Kakashi can teach Iruka to be a jonin in two months, and both men have their lives suddenly thrown into chaos. Amoung the challenges, love begins to work it's way into the hearts of the the two nin, and in
1. Part 1: Chapter 1

**A/N:** Good day all! Before I even begin, I want you to know two things. One- this is my first attempt at writing a Naruto fic (besides that, I'm REALLY rusty on slash pairings). I've only seen about the first 34 episodes, but I've done a great deal of research so I hope it turns out well. Secondly, I totally stole the basic plot idea from Pepsi Dragon from her story "Train A Dolphin to Swim". I only read half the first chapter before this idea took over and I had to stop reading to write, so any similarities after that point are completely coincidental. I don't believe there will be, as mine is a much more serious take on the situation judging from what I read.

That said, I want you to all know that this is a Kakashi/Iruka fic that takes place sometime during the time skip and is mostly for my own amusement. Don't like it? Tough cookies, I'm writing it anyway.

Before you all skin me alive, I also want to point out that yes I KNOW Iruka is still a Chuunin in Part II. It will all make sense by story's end, trust me.

Finally, I'm attempting to break all the stereotypes of Kakashiruka that annoy me. Iruka isn't going to be a bitch, Kakashi won't be a pleading, sniveling, idiot, and Tsunade is NOT playing matchmaker (the bet is real, and she has no intentions of them hooking up romantically at all).

**Title:** All the Broken Pieces

"You want me to what?"

Had Tsunade been any less of a woman, she would have flinched under the glare Kakashi was giving her with his one visible eye. Of course, had she been a lesser woman, she wouldn't be Hokage and none of this would be happening in the first place. She leaned back against the desk, folding her arms across her rather large breasts.

"I am _assigning_ you to train Iruka-sensei to become a Jounin. We all know he's capable, and we feel it would be best if he had more training to teach the students with."

Kakashi wondered mildly if Iruka-sensei himself was included in 'we' but decided this wasn't a battle he particularly felt like fighting at the moment.

"On top of that, we need all the upper ranked nin we can get at the moment," the fifth Hokage added confidently, "when we know more powerful enemies are approaching our doorstep."

"Which is exactly why you want me to train him," Kakashi said, focusing his eye away from his superior and instead on the wall behind her.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched on it's own accord. "Of course. You're the very best in the village, and I'm sure you'd be the fastest one."

Kakashi directed his eye back at her, and grinned even though she couldn't see it behind his mask. "So, you have a bet with someone."

Tsunade didn't respond, so Kakashi continued in a slightly bemused tone.

"You bet someone I could train anyone in the village, and they picked the most pathetic chuunin they could think of, ne?"

Tsunade's eyes flashed as she regarded Kakashi. "Bet or no, Iruka-sensei is not pathetic. I meant it when I said he could be Jounin ranked. He has the skills, but lacks the confidence. I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you, Kakashi-_kun_."

Kakashi would have scowled at her, but he'd long ago found that it was a waste of energy to do so, and instead merely shrugged. "How long do I have?"

"Two months. I'm glad you've chosen to accept, Kakashi. Working with Iruka-sensei is exactly what you need," the fifth Hokage exclaimed with a grin. She remembered some of the gossip she'd over heard that Kakashi and Iruka didn't get a long very well and never had. Aside from the fact that he most certainly would get her to win the bet, maybe a bit of an argument would drag Kakashi out of the completely disinterested state (also known as a return to before) that he'd been in since Team 7 dissolved.

Kakashi closed his eye, trying to figure out when he'd agreed to do this and- more importantly- when it was he'd actually had a say in the matter. "I have two months to turn a school teacher into a really ninja."

"If you want to look at it that way."

Kakashi pondered this for a moment. Tsunade was probably just bragging up Iruka's ability- he certainly hadn't been that impressive at the Chuunin exam- to make Kakashi feel this was more doable. However, it was something to do while he waited for the next volume of Icha Icha to be released. He shrugged again.

Tsunade smiled widely at him. "Now, keep in mind Iruka-sensei is probably a little rusty. He's been a Chuunin for nearly ten years, and because he's the academy's best teacher he's only been on three missions in that time. The last one was four and a half years ago."

Kakashi didn't bother to hide his mild surprise. "A little rusty?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Training five-year-olds to throw shuriken without killing each other or himself is harder than some C ranked missions, and he does it every day. You have to give him that much credit. The basics, you don't have to worry about. It's the application area you may have issues."

"So, new moves shouldn't be too difficult," Kakashi muttered to himself, cupping a hand under his chin.

"Exactly," she grinned at her underling with a look that would have terrified anyone but the famous copy nin. "You'll be training him after his regular work, and he gets off shift in an hour. I would suggest you go introduce yourself to him today."

'Not that he doesn't know,' Kakashi thought to himself, secretly proud of his reputation. He stood and bowed to Tsunade before walking toward the door.

"And Kakashi," Tsunade said, causing the other ninja to turn back.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Try not to kill him."

Kakashi just smiled his characteristic one-eyed smile and walked out the door, making no promises.

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As he waited for them to all file out, Kakashi had to wonder just how many small bodies could fit into one classroom and how one person was supposed to keep his eye on every single one of them. He also wondered how it was possible he was even late and he still had managed to run into them.

There seemed to be an endless stream of children, today's lot not being the aforementioned five-year-olds, but older students around the age of ten or eleven. They wandered past him, most not even noticing the older ninja. He feared for the future of Konoha if they were it.

When all but one of the noisy brats had filed past him, Kakashi walked into the classroom, still not greeting the younger man as he seemed otherwise occupied with one of the girls.

She seemed upset about something, but Iruka simply smiled at her and ruffled her short hair. "We'll just have to tell Kemaru to play nicer tomorrow, then, won't we, Imoto."

The little girl nodded as her teacher stood up, fitfully wiping away her tears. She offered a water smile up at her teacher as she turned and ran for the door. "Ja mata, sensei!"

"Ja mata," Iruka smiled after her, waving. His dark brown eyes followed her progress to Kakashi, but once he realized the other man was there he momentarily froze. He straightened up, head held high and fighting the blush that was slowly rising in his face.

"Konnichi wa, Kakashi-san."

"Yo," Kakashi said in return, raising his hand in greeting.

Silence fell over the classroom as they looked at each other awkwardly. Finally, Iruka moved to begin gathering up his papers. "If I'm not being to forward, Kakashi-san, may I ask what you're doing here?"

Kakashi scratched his head, biting down the urge to snap something about him always questioning the motives of his superiors. His pride was still stinging- true- but it would be much easier to teach someone who was willing to listen to him. "Tsunade-sama sent me."

Iruka looked up, surprised. "What does Hokage-sama want with me?"

The very inner Kakashi groaned. 'She didn't tell him.' Outwardly, he grinned. "She said I'm supposed to teach you how to be a Jounin."

Iruka dropped the paper's he'd been holding as Kakashi pulled out his favorite book to stare at the pages. He wasn't really reading it, but figured the other man would be slightly more comfortable if Kakashi had something else to look at.

Iruka continued gaping, his shock and confusion evident on his face. Kakashi made a mental note that he would have to train that out of Iruka in the next two months. Pity. He kind of liked watching the human goldfish.

"M-me?" Iruka asked once he'd gotten control of his voice again. "She wants me to be a jounin?"

Kakashi turned the page lazily. "She said something about needing more advanced nin in the future."

Iruka nodded. It made sense. He was one of the oldest chuunin in the village, the others his age group either already dead or having moved on long ago. That didn't make him feel anymore ready for the jump.

"And she's assigned you to be my teacher?"

"Seems to think it'll speed up the process."

Iruka sighed, restacking his papers. "When will we begin training, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi glanced listlessly up at the clock. It said four-thirty, and he gauged it would take Iruka ten minutes to get home, changed, and out on the training ground. "We'll begin in half an hour."

'Meaning five-thirty,' Iruka thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and smiling instead. "Sounds fine. I'll see you then, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi raised his hand by way of parting before performing the teleportation jutsu and vanishing in a small veil of smoke. Iruka sat down in his chair, running and hand across his eyes. He didn't know what god he'd pissed off in another life to make him spend all this time with Hatake Kakashi, but whatever it was he was certainly very sorry for it now.


	2. Part 1: Chapter 2

**A/N:** You guys lucked out. I have some kind of idea where I want this to go now! Like the title says, it's going to come in parts, with each part broken into a series of chapters- probably somewhere between 5-10 chapters per part. I'm thinking there will be three parts: training, mission, and healing. Don't worry, romantic feelings should begin to show up sometime towards the end of part 1, developing further in part 2, and be pretty strong by part 3. If things go according to plan, and since I'm the writer they will. 

Now, one of the reasons I'm writing this is because my action scenes suck jolly ranchers, and I'm trying to improve them. Be patient with me while I work out the bugs in my action writing techniques, all right? Not all updates will probably come this quickly. It depends on how long my muse decides to stick around and hold my interest. (IruKashi Art or Music Videos Muse).

**All The Broken Pieces**

_Part 1: Training_

_Chapter 2_

It was nearly five o' clock when Iruka realized Kakashi had failed to say where to meet him. Iruka realized with a groan that he had no idea how to contact the other man to ask him, and finally decided that Kakashi- being the creature of habit Iruka understood him to be- could really only think of meeting anyone on the bridge where he had always met team seven. If he was wrong, the young teacher guessed Kakashi would be able to find him easily enough. Even he had to admit that you weren't called the best nin in Konoha for nothing.

At exactly five, Iruka found himself at the bridge with no Kakashi in sight. He had guessed this would happen, and so was rather unperturbed by it. He would never figure out why Naruto and Sakura had let it bother them every time when they knew it would happen everyday. He began to stretch attempting to loosen the muscles unused to these activities. Why'll he trained regularly, it was never with anyone else. Everyone liked Iruka, but no one bothered to be his friend.

He was well stretched by the time Kakashi did show up. He'd been watching him for fifteen minutes, and Iruka knew it but decided against mentioning it. Probably, Kakashi had been deciding where to begin by watching him. At least, that's that Iruka's teacher side told him he was doing.

Kakashi smiled his usual look, bracing himself for a lecture as he lifted his hand in greeting. "Yo."

To Kakashi's surprise, Iruka smiled at him with genuine warmth. "Konban wa, Kakashi-sensei."

There was silence for a moment while Kakashi waited for yelling that wasn't coming, and Iruka stood silently waiting for instructions like a good student should.

"Well, shall we go?" Kakashi asked brightly, and Iruka nodded.

Though Iruka had no way of knowing it, Kakashi led him to the same field he had tested team seven on. When he heard the soft jingle of a bell, however, the brown haired teacher remembered Naruto's recounting of his own first lesson with the man.

"I don't have a team to help me get the bell," Iruka blurted out.

Kakashi paused and looked over his shoulder at the younger man. "So, Naruto told you about my test."

Iruka couldn't hold his dark blue gaze; instead he looked down and blushed.

Kakashi started walking again. "I'm curious to see how close you can get to getting the bell from me."

"Oh," Iruka said, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck.

Kakashi stood in the center of the field, not yet reaching for Icha Icha. "Whenever you're ready, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka nodded and jumped up into the trees, effectively disappearing. Kakashi smiled slightly under his mask. At least he had a better idea what was expected of him than Naruto. With one keen eye he surveyed the trees for any sign of Iruka, but found none. He shouldn't have been too surprised. This was the man who taught his former students their basics after all.

It was a small spike in chakara coming from his left that alerted Kakashi to where about Iruka was. He didn't respond, waiting instead for Iruka to make the first attack. This wasn't a test of his own skills, after all.

He was only mildly surprised when the attack came from his right. The spike of chakara must have been a teleportation jutsu. Iruka's attack from the opposite direction, and slightly above, did require some acknowledgement of a theoretically good plan, Kakashi had to admit grudgingly.

He remained standing as he was, curious to see what the chuunin intended to do with the attack. Iruka pulled out a kunai to try and accurately dislodge the bell. He aimed, and hesitated for a second, before the small sharp object was sent flying. Kakashi caught it easily, wondering why the extra second of hesitation. It was almost like it had taken him a moment to gather the courage to actually throw. Against weaker opponents, this was fine, but for someone stronger than Iruka it could result in his death.

Iruka landed with a mild curse, now running head long at Kakashi. Running and hiding would have been pointless now. He swung a foot up at Kakashi, slowing it down a fraction and hesitating again at the last second.

Kakashi caught his foot, and then the other knee as it came up with that last second hesitation. 'This is getting old,' Kakashi thought to himself as Iruka twisted, and the Jounin let him go.

"You have to stop second-guessing yourself," Kakashi said, eyeing Iruka as he panted slightly. "That hesitation would kill you in a battle."

Iruka panted, pushing his headband back up in place, listening carefully to Kakashi's advice. He knew he always hesitated, but it was a habit he'd had for as long as he could remember. He wasn't sure how to change it.

Deciding that Kakashi was definitely faster than he was, Iruka concluded his only hope would be to out smart the man. If he could.

Iruka charged at him again, performing hand seals mid run. Kakashi prepared himself for a head on attack, but Iruka simply teleported, coming up behind the Jounin. Kakashi was taken by surprise, but again Iruka hesitated just a moment to long. The silver haired man grabbed his wrist, and promptly threw Iruka into the river.

'Well, that didn't work,' Iruka concluded, swimming his way up to the surface and taking a huge gasp for air.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. Really, Iruka was reminding him a little too much of the other man's favorite student, and not even he had done anything awful enough to deserve teaching two Naruto's in his life time.

Iruka hauled himself out of the water, reaching up and wringing out his ponytail. He grinned sheepishly at the other nin. "Am I getting closer?"

"Not really," Kakashi said honestly.

Iruka's cheeks darkened with a deep blush again. "Gomen. I'll try harder."

'I should have set a deadline,' Kakashi realized belatedly as he caught Iruka's fist. He kicked the other man in the chest, sending him stumbling back into the water. This was going to be a long evening.

--------------------------------------------------------

It was twilight- closer to total darkness then sunset- when the pair stopped. Considering it was summer time, that meant it was actually several hours later. Iruka was panting and shivering, his clothes dripping profuse amounts of water onto the grass. He'd lost track of how many times he'd found himself in that blasted river, but he knew it was probably twice as many as he was years old.

He hadn't managed to get the blasted bell off from around Kakashi's waist. He'd managed to get his hand around it once, but that was all, and Kakashi had easily thrown him off then by using a body replacement jutsu and attacking him from behind. That was swimming trip number twenty.

Kakashi grinned at him, tossing the bell up and down with delight. He hadn't had this much fun since his regular torture subjects had disappeared, or become one of Tsunade's as with Sakura. Iruka was scowling at the bell, his scar crinkling up with his nose. This seemed to only further Kakashi's amusement.

"Tsunade-hime told me you were near Jounin level, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said lightly, sticking the offending bell in one of his pockets. "Apparently, we still have a long way to go."

Iruka shot him a dark look, probably the angriest he'd seen since the Chuunin exam. The lower ranked ninja took a deep, trembling breath as he clutched his hands by his side. He forced a smile onto his face and reached a hand up to run along the top of his nose on his scar. "Thank you for taking the time to do this, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi shrugged, deciding the anger was preferable to the forced happiness. "Maa, I have nothing better to do."

Iruka's hand twitched, somewhat insulted that he was just time filler. Still, he was determined not to let Hatake Kakashi get under his skin. Asuma had once explained to him that Kakashi was social challenged. Iruka disagreed. Naruto was socially challenged, seeming unable to grasp when social standards obligated better behavior because of his lack of parenting. Kakashi, however, seemed to know when what he was doing was wrong and enjoyed his blatant disregard for the rules. Iruka refused to sink to his level. "Well, I'm glad you think I'm a worthy cause then."

Kakashi couldn't seem to think of anything to say to that. Iruka was, in fact, quite a capable chuunin, but lacked the killer instinct to advance- and Kakashi wasn't sure he wanted to teach that to him. Somehow, killer instinct and schoolteacher didn't seem to coincide very well. He simply shrugged, looking idly up at the slowly appearing stars. "We'll meet tomorrow, before your classes, for two hours."

Iruka let out a startled sort of yelp. "That would be at five A.M."

Kakashi looked at him, feigning surprise. "Is it? Well, we better go get some sleep then."

Iruka sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he turned to walk home, offering Kakashi only a slight wave in parting. If he was lucky, Kakashi would over sleep and miss the appointment entirely. Although, if the last few hours were any indication, that kind of luck had left Iruka completely.


	3. Part 1: Chapter 3

**A/N:** Gomen gomen! I know I said I'd have this up yesterday, but life happened and I failed at that. For the better, actually, as it gave more time to solidify exactly what I wanted so I could foreshadow upcoming chapters. I have all the way up to chapter 1 of part 2 mapped out in considerable detail and all nice and ready for me to get to work on it. Be pleased, all of you. 

Um...no particular notes on this chapter. The opening scene amused me quite a bit, really. Mostly imagining what Iruka would have in his fridge. That was fun. Lots of ramen.

**All The Broken Pieces**

_Part 1: Chapter 3_

When Kakashi did reach the bridge the next morning, at only 5:10 he might add, he was surprised and more than a little annoyed to find that Iruka was not there. He had not gotten up extra early just to be stood up by the man who was supposed to be his student. There was something very wrong with that. Grumbling just slightly, Kakashi took off in the direction of Iruka's house- having followed Naruto there once when the boy had been angry and Kakashi didn't trust him not to destroy anything if left unattended.

The teacher's house was run down and surprisingly plain. Kakashi figured it was probably the best he could afford on a teacher's salary. He was able to break in easy enough, disabling the simple wards and traps Iruka had set up for protection. Apparently, the teacher didn't think he had any powerful enemies. Which he would, Kakashi decided, if his pupil was ever late again. He wandered through the house silently, remembering without meaning to where everything was. A room that was part sitting area part dining room that led to a kitchen in the back. A hallway with a closet, a bathroom, and what looked like two bedrooms. The empty one was slightly more decorated, with some pictures on the wall, but obviously the spare.

Kakashi found his charge sleeping soundly, curled up under the blankets so only the top of his head was sticking out while his alarm clock tried its best to buzz him awake. Apparently, Iruka was still exhausted from their work out last night and had no intentions of moving anytime soon. Having already been up for three hours, Kakashi had no sympathy for him.

With grace only ever mastered by a member of the ANBU squad, Kakashi walked back toward the kitchen. He wasn't sure what he was going to do to wake up his lightly snoring student, but he figured he could always be creative. The table, with its four place settings, didn't offer him anything. Neither did the spotless cupboards or empty sink.

As Kakashi opened the fridge he was engulfed with the smell of citrus fruits and left over noodles.

'It's funny what you can learn about a man by the contents of his refrigerator,' Kakashi thought to himself as he removed the lid of a plastic container and smelt fish but didn't see anything that looked remotely like the water dwelling creature he knew. He put it back on the shelf where he had found it, and something on the shelf above caught his eye. It was a glass pitcher full of water, ice, and lemons.

Kakashi's eye closed and curved upward with delight as he muttered to no one, "perfect."

His partially gloved hands wrapped around the chilled glass carefully as he stepped back, careful not to spill any of his prize. The fridge sealed shut with a gentle snap as he walked silently down the hallway again.

Returning to Iruka's room, he found the younger man and moved in his sleep so his head and top of his shoulders were exposed. Kakashi made a mental note to teach Iruka about being alert, even when sleeping, as he reached out and turned the pitcher upside down.

Iruka let out a yelp as the cold water hit him, pulling him away from a pleasant dream where he was having a picnic with Naruto and Iruka's own parents. His hand went automatically to the kunai he kept under the pillow. With no conscious effort on his part, his brain calculated from years of training where his attacker's throat would be based on the angle of the falling water. His body had every intention of killing whatever it was that had pulled it so forcefully from its perfectly relaxed state.

Kakashi was impressed by Iruka's reaction time as he reached up his fist and used the guard on the back of his glove to stop the small knife. He honesty hadn't expected Iruka's first reaction to be an attempt to behead whatever had awoken him, and he was suddenly glad Naruto hadn't ever tried it.

Finding his weapon effectively stopped, Iruka opened his eyes and blinked water from them enough to see. He looked up to see his kunai slightly embedded in the metal. His eyes wandered up slightly further to see Kakashi looking at him with mild interest.

"What are you doing in my house?" Iruka demanded, his voice taking on a nearly feminine quality in his indignity. Who did Hatake Kakashi think he was, anyway?

Kakashi smiled at him, still holding back the weapon. "I just came to awaken my student for his morning training session."

"Your…" Iruka blinked as the events of yesterday afternoon- including the fact that he'd come home just as wet as he was now- restored themselves to their proper place in his now awake brain. He gasped and hastily lowered his weapon. "Gomenasai, Kakashi-sensei! I didn't mean to try and take your head off…"

Kakashi lowered a hand to silence the now very flustered chuunin. "I'll go wait by the front door while you get dressed."

Iruka blushed, looking down at the ground as he sat up and climbed out of bed, berating himself for being tired enough to sleep through his alarm. He wondered vaguely as he shut off his alarm and watched Kakashi leave if he could get away with not assigning his students any homework until this ordeal was over.

He dressed quickly, pulling a clean vest out of his dresser, and pulled his hair back neatly and tying on his forehead protector. He walked to the front door to find Kakashi leaning leisurely against the frame, his infamous orange book in his hand. Iruka's eye twitched at the thought of a book like that being in house. He took a deep breath and plastered a grin on his face. "I'm all set, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi looked up at Iruka as he slid into his sandals, and without saying a word opened the front door. He jumped up into the tree, and from there onto the nearest roof top. Iruka took the time to shut and lock his front door before following him. In Iruka's personal opinion, traveling by rooftop this early in the morning was rude, but he couldn't possibly hope to keep up with Kakashi otherwise. As it was, he could barely keep up with him at all.

They landed in the field just as the sky was starting to lighten in shade, at the sort of reddish-grey stage that Iruka couldn't ever remember seeing before in his life. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and started to yawn but stifled it when Kakashi turned to look at him.

"This has been a morning full of learning," Kakashi said brightly. Iruka stared at him.

"It has?"

"For me," Kakashi amended, walking closer to Iruka.

"Oh?"

"Yes." Kakashi reached out and pulled Iruka's forehead protector over his eyes.

"Hey," Iruka yelled, jerking back and reaching up to fix it, "what are you doing?"

"Leave it," Kakashi instructed, and Iruka reluctantly lowered his hands. "Sometimes, missions are done at night. You won't always be able to see, and you'll never have time to think about what you're going to do. I want to concentrate on feeling. On acting and reacting without thinking about what you're doing."

"I…" Iruka bit his lip.

"You are going to do exactly what I say," Kakashi said sternly. "Now, first, you're going to defend yourself. Remember, don't think about it."

"What if I kill you?" Iruka blurted.

Kakashi cocked his head. "If you manage that, then I really had no right to be teaching you in the first place."

Iruka was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. Kakashi took that as his signal to begin, and launched himself at Iruka. He refused to be excessively noisy, but he wasn't aiming to kill Iruka either. He'd sort of promised Tsunade he wouldn't.

Iruka blocked his first kick without to much effort, and dodged the following punch just as easily. Kakashi took this as a good sign and ducked down, attempting to trip Iruka up. It sort of worked. His feet did touch him, but Iruka used his falling momentum to handspring himself upright.

"Not bad, sensei," Kakashi chuckled a little to himself. So Tsunade had been at least partially truthful with him. Defensively, Iruka seemed quite up to standard. It was everything else he lacked in. Reaching into his holster, Kakashi grabbed two shuriken and threw them at Iruka. He could see Iruka's ears twitch at the sound of them whistling through the air, and he preformed a simple teleportation jutsu to escape. Kakashi nodded his approval as Iruka dropped back to the ground and the log fell behind.

"Part two will be you attacking me," Kakashi said simply, standing up to his full height.

"But…"

"Don't think about it, just do it."

Kakashi watched as Iruka pulled together his chakara, finding the Jounin as best he could. A moment's hesitation and Iruka ran at him, shuriken in hand. Kakashi stepped aside, and noted that Iruka seemed reluctant to follow the changed position of his chakara. This reluctance came with a price as he ran, face first, into a tree.

Kakashi wasn't sure whether to be amused or exasperated as Iruka fell to the ground with a groan. He scratched his head, and closed his eyes wearily. "You're not making my job any easier, are you, Iruka-sensei?"

"You moved," was the slightly pouted response.

"You expect your enemies to stand still, Iruka-sensei?"

"Well no…"

"Why didn't you follow?"

"Because it was to close," Iruka responded automatically. "I wouldn't have had time to change directions if you'd moved again. I was counting on their being more field here."

"You were thinking."

Iruka sighed, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"We're running that again," Kakashi stated, stepping back as Iruka climbed to his feet. Which they did, until Iruka had to leave- by then tired and extremely sore- to go teach his classes.

Kakashi rubbed his eye as he watched the chuunin leave. All he'd really managed to learn that morning was that, for some reason, Iruka was afraid of attacking. When he was on the defensive, or the attack was a reflex, he was fine. The hesitation, and the resulting mistakes, disappeared. When he was supposed to actually be in control of the situation, he became timid. This had only gotten worse as the time had elapsed. The only time Iruka even hit Kakashi was when the Jounin had clotheslined him with his arm instead of moving out of the way completely.

'If he's that afraid of leading,' Kakashi wondered to himself, 'how can he possibly be a teacher.'

Yet he was. According to all reports, his own former team included, one of Konoha's best. Iruka was a complete mystery to him; one that Kakashi decided must be solved if he was to complete this officially unofficial assignment. Pulling out Icha Icha once more, Kakashi started off in the direction of the Academy. Today would be the information-gathering portion of the mission, as he observed how his student behaved outside of a conflict.


	4. Part 1: Chapter 4

**A/N:** This chapter is one of the longer ones, in part because if I tried to break it into two chapters they would both be to short. Not all the chapters are going to be quite this long, but from here on out most of the chapters should be longer than they have been previously. Except the few I have planned with Might Guy. Having never written him before, I make no promises.

**All The Broken Pieces**

_Part 1: Chapter 4_

After checking with some of the other sensei's that Iruka wouldn't mind being observed- from which Kakashi learned that Anko sometimes made a game of stalking the young chuunin and that he had never done anything to her- Kakashi settled himself into a tree that had a good view of Iruka's classroom. He had his book and a glass of cold lemonade, preparing himself for a rather long day of lip reading, with as little help from his sharingun as possible.

He was greatly surprised, and really quite pleased, with his luck when Iruka and his class of bright-faced children came outside.

Kakashi watched over the top of his book as Iruka set up targets along some trees that would have the children facing away from the academy. The teacher then turned and grinned at his class. Kakashi thought the grin looked nervous, and he really didn't blame the other man. Those brats looked like they wanted to eat him alive in their excitement.

"Okay, class, today we're going to practice throwing shuriken…"

There was a cheer from the group, and Iruka held up his hand to silence it. It took a while, but he managed.

"Before we start, let me lay down a few rules."

A groan, which Iruka ignored, and Kakashi smiled.

"You will be throwing the shuriken one at a time for at least the first half hour. No, Kaida, I don't care if you can throw more than one already. Everyone will be only throwing one so I can watch your technique and adjust it as necessary. Yes, I might have to adjust yours so don't even ask."

Kakashi chuckled as a girl in the small group pouted, her complaints answered before they were even spoken. Iruka apparently took the time to get to know his students quite well.

"Secondly, if I catch anyone throwing a shuriken at something that is not a target, there will be swift punishment. Namely a talk with a Jounin about the importance of respecting your weapons and your teammates. I'm sure Asuma-sensei would be more than happy to speak with you…or maybe even Kakashi-sensei…"

There was a collective shudder of fear from the young students, while Kakashi gave the academy teacher a one-eyed glare. He didn't appreciate being used as a threat, although he had to wonder if Iruka didn't know he was watching and had used that to clue him in to the fact he knew.

"The third rule is that, for those of you advanced enough to use them or who are from clans who can, no jitsu is to be used. There will be times when your jitsus will be blocked, and I want you to learn these based on your own skill with no help from them."

Kakashi was sure the young Hyuuga he could see was trying to kill Iruka with her white eyes alone, but since she was unsuccessful it was all right.

"The final rule is to take turns. I only have four targets and there are about twenty of you. I want you to divide up in four lines of five each. The person at the front will throw one shuriken. After that hits the tree, you will go to the back of the line and wait your next turn. Everyone got that?"

The group of children nodded, some more enthusiastically then others. A few looked like they still didn't understand, but they would catch on eventually…Iruka hoped.

"Okay then, let's get started."

There was an instantaneous rise in noise as the children assembled themselves into the aforementioned lines. Kakashi wasn't sure why this took any talking at all, never mind all the pushing and shoving it seemed to require, but if Iruka was the slightest bit bothered by any of it he didn't say so.

As the shuriken flew through the air, Kakashi realized that it was from years of teaching classes just like this that Iruka had been able to detect his this morning. The sharp stars were going every direction, with only a few actually hitting the targets they were supposed to. Iruka even had to duck as a girl in the line closest to him let go of her ninja-star to late and it went flying at her teacher's head.

"G-Gomenasai, Iruka-sensei," the girl stammered, the blush on her face a really quite impressive shade of fuchsia.

Iruka waved off her apology with a gentle smile as he came to kneel beside her. "I've had closer calls then that Moegi. Next time, though, try to remember which direction the finger on the bottom of the shuriken is facing." He took his hand in hers, curving it in pantomime of how shuriken were to be held when thrown Frisbee style. He ran a finger of his other hand along the bottom part, just below her knuckle, of her index finger. "Whichever way that is pointing will be the way the shuriken flies. Next time, you'll try to let go when it's facing the target, won't you?"

"Hai, sensei," Moegi nodded. She seemed pleased with this new information, and didn't look at all chastised.

Icha Icha had been lowered by this point, his finger marking his place in the book. Kakashi was keeping his steady gaze on Iruka, curious to see if he was so gentle with all his students. Kakashi hoped not, as he knew most of the little devils would try and take advantage of it.

His unspoken question was answered when one of the boys, his brown hair sticking up because of his rather ridiculous goggles- Kakashi thought he looked quite a lot like Asuma- tried starting out by throwing the shuriken while facing backwards. It was sheer luck the runaway weapon didn't hit any of the boy's classmates.

"Did I hit it?" The boy asked, turning around.

Iruka quickly strode over and knocked him quite soundly on the head.

The boy yelped and looked up at him indignantly.

"You can't treat the future Hokage like that!" He shrieked, and Kakashi found himself once again strongly reminded of Naruto.

"As long as you are one of my students and not Hokage, Konohamaru, you will follow my instructions." Iruka's tone was obviously angry, and Kakashi understood why. The object had come dangerously close to the neck of a now hyperventilating young girl.

"You can't…"

"Yes I can!" The reply was yelled, and Konohamaru flinched. The rest of the class had stopped to look, curious to see who was getting yelled at. They almost looked eager, and Kakashi concluded this was a rather blood thirsty lot.

Iruka folded his arms over his chest, glaring down at the young boy in his most intimidating teacher manner. "Stunts like that would get you and your teammates killed. Yes, there may come a time when you'd be forced to throw a shuriken without looking…but until you're skilled enough to throw it accurately while looking there is not risk of that. Trying to do more than you're capable of will only put your teammates in more danger! Do you want to be responsible for their deaths, Konohamaru?"

The boy looked down as if thinking about that terrible prediction. He shook his head, and Iruka seemed to decide he'd been sufficiently scolded. He put a hand on the boy's head before walking back to his observation point, and the class resumed its activities.

In a few more minutes it was Konohamaru's turn once more. This time the young cadet threw his weapon so hard it actually bounced off the edge of the target and flopped onto the ground. Konohamaru growled in frustration as Iruka walked over, looking less angry this time. He put a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder before walking forward so he could address the class.

"Can anyone tell me what the point of a shuriken is?"

No one volunteered the information, which surprised Kakashi. It had been his experience that every class had at least one know-it-all. Iruka didn't seem at all surprised by this though. He bent down and picked up one of the fallen weapons.

"A shuriken is not intended to kill your enemy. They are intended simply to slow the enemy down, and make them less able to use their own weapons against you. They're not intended to be thrown so hard they will go deep. Keep that in mind, both now and on the battlefield. Shuriken are not your last line of defense, ever."

The group nodded their heads as Iruka walked back, returning the star in his hand to the pile by one of the lines. This sort of pattern continued for hours, with Iruka alternating his scolding, rarely more severe than was necessary, and his praise, which was always sincere. He only yelled when one of his students would put another in danger.

Which was how Kakashi got his idea in the first place. Iruka's obvious want to protect his students got the wheels turning in Kakashi's head, and he watched with interest as the class began to file back inside for the remainder of their lessons. The last student to head inside was Konohamaru. He seemed to want to continue practicing, as he picked up a shuriken.

Kakashi dropped down beside him and grinned, "yo."

The boy let the weapon fall from his hands, and would have screamed in fright if Kakashi hadn't been faster and put a hand over his mouth.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi," he explained to the boy with as much patience as possible. "Do you know who I am?"

Konohamaru nodded, his eyes wide in fright. Apparently, this wasn't the first time Iruka had used him as a threat of swift and painful punishment. That, or his reputation was worse than he thought.

"I'm trying to train Iruka-sensei to be a Jounin and I need your help."

All traces of fear vanished, and Konohamaru jerked his head so he could speak. "Finally, someone realizes my potential! What do you need me to do? Fight him? I could take down Iruka-sensei easy!"

Kakashi smiled again as he stood. "Meet me after school and I'll explain everything. But don't tell Iruka-sensei, okay? It's a surprise."

Konohamaru nodded eagerly, his extra practice obviously forgotten as he turned and dashed inside.

------------------------------------------------------

Iruka walked toward the bridge slowly, his hands in his pockets. His body still ached from his training that morning, and even though he was running a bit behind Iruka couldn't make himself go any faster. Shoulders slumped the academy teacher reached the spot where he was supposed to meet his own sensei.

Pinned with a kunai to the bridge was the most innocent looking piece of paper Iruka had ever seen, but he could sense an aura of evil around it. Deciding that this, indeed, meant it was from his ever-late mentor, Iruka undid it and began to read.

"Dear Iruka-sensei," it began. "I'm afraid I'm going to be even later than usual today. A matter of most importance has come up. I will meet you at the field we went to yesterday as soon as I can. Feel free to warm up!"

It was signed with a rather disproportioned picture of Kakashi's head smiling at him with its one shown eye. Iruka sighed, crumbling the note up and sticking it in his pocket. 'Of course he doesn't know when he'd be back,' Iruka thought darkly. 'That would mean I could have gone home to take a nap.'

He began to shuffle his way toward the practice field, forcing himself to look on the positive. It was still a nice evening, and this way he could work on his strategy to make it less predictable for Kakashi.

He was still twenty feet from the clearing when he began to sense something was wrong. There was someone in the field already, which was strange as it was, but Iruka was picking up frightened noises. Suddenly, the brown-haired man was on high alert, his ever sense focused in on the situation. There was a ninja who, from the way he was dressed, didn't appear to be from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but Iruka could not see his forehead protector to be sure. On the ground in front of him sat Konohamaru, wide eyed and wavering.

One of Iruka's fists clenched as the other began to drift toward his holster. Friend or foe, this person was frightening his student, and Iruka did not like that.

"What are you doing out here all alone, cry baby?" The ninja asked gruffly as Iruka crept closer.

"I-I came to pay respects to my grandfather, the third Hokage" Konohamaru whimpered. It was that, more than the fact that the boy looked to be already roughed up, that convinced Iruka that Konohamaru was in serious danger. It appeared he'd already learned to fear this person in a way Iruka could never have managed.

"So," the man said, moving forward threateningly, "do you think your special just because you were related to a Hokage?"

"N-no," Konohamaru stuttered, backing up and flinching when he found that escape route blocked by the memorial stone.

"Of course you do," the stranger stepped closer still, and Iruka's brown eyes watched him keenly for the chance to attack. "You do, boy, but I'm going to prove to you otherwise."

The man reached his hand toward the small boy's neck, and Konohamaru shut his eyes in terror. When a kunai pierced his hand, however, the man let out a howl of pain. A sudden gust of wind moving the light in the trees made the man appear to flicker as he turned to face Iruka, who had stepped into the clearing fully now, with furious eyes.

"Leave him alone," Iruka yelled, not the slightest trace of fear in his mannerisms. "Unless you're such a coward you have to pick on children instead of real ninjas."

"Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru's relief at seeing his teacher was evident, but short lived as the man picked him up by the scruff of the shirt and the boy let out a yell of fright.

"You want him so badly," the man sneered, "then come and get him."

With that, the enemy ninja leaped up into the trees with Iruka following quickly behind. Iruka had a vague sense of déjà vu as he chased the man, but brushed it aside as he focused on the problem at hand. The enemy ninja was obviously faster than he was. He had to find a way to slow him down.

"Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru, now slung over the man's shoulder, stretched a desperate hand out to his teacher. "Help me!"

With a growl, Iruka reached into his shuriken holster, and pulled out three of the stars. Fanning them between his fingers, he then threw them at the man's feet. Two landed on the branch just below, but one lodged itself into the space between the man's sandal and his pant leg. He hissed in pain, stumbling slightly as he lost mobility of that leg. Konohamaru cried out in fright as he was nearly dropped.

While the man had to pause to readjust himself, Iruka scrambled up and over several branches. He dropped down on the branch ahead of the man, and kicked at his head.

The other ninja, however, appeared to be of a higher rank than Iruka and was considerably faster. He dodged easily, keeping his hold on the boy, and lashed out at Iruka with the brass knuckles on his hand. Iruka used his chakara control to lean back farther on the branch, avoiding the blow, before jumping up and grabbing a branch above his head. Using this as leverage, he swung back quickly and kicked the nin in the face.

The man stumbled, his hold on Konohamaru loosening, which encouraged Iruka to continue his attack. Ducking low as a kick was aimed for his head, Iruka attempted a switching Jutsu that would replace Konohamaru with a nearby branch and get the boy out of the way. Seeing what he was doing, however, the enemy nin preformed a rapid series of hand seals.

Iruka cried out and stumbled back, nearly falling, as blast of flame shot past his head.

Konohamaru seemed to have gained back some of his confidence from Iruka's successful attacks as he yelled out at the ninja, "not so close to me, you mean thing!"

He paid the boy no mind as he threw a handful of shuriken at the now off balance teacher. A couple hit Iruka in the shoulder and he fell with a cry that was echoed by Konohamaru. Iruka reached down and grabbed his last kunai, twisting so it embedded itself in the tree. He continued to fall several feet before it was deep enough in the wood to stop his decent. The enemy ninja had started running again, and Iruka dislodged his kunai as he jumped to a lower branch and followed in pursuit.

Even injured, the man was still faster than Iruka, but the chuunin was closer now and could follow where the other nin planned to jump next. He reached up into his pocket and pulled out one of the scrolls. He quickly preformed a few hand seals before throwing it as hard as he could. It landed and stuck a few branches a head of the ninja and began to smoke instantly. The moment the man's foot touched the branch, it exploded. Both ninja and Konohamaru began to fall with identical yells of surprise.

Iruka jumped down without a moment's hesitation. As he expected, in his shock at the suddenly flying wood the ninja had let go of Konohamaru. Iruka snagged the boy now, holding him close to his chest as they plummeted toward the ground below. Iruka curled his body around him, shielding the boy from harm, as they hit the ground and rolled several feet.

Iruka groaned as he got up, a bit disoriented from the fall, and looked around for the ninja to begin attacking him and his charge once again. Instead, he found no one but Kakashi sitting the branch above him with a grin on the portion of his face that Iruka could see.

"I must say," Kakashi said, grinning down at the two of them, "that you did exceptionally well on your first surprise test, sensei."

"My…" Iruka gaped up at the Jounin in surprise as Konohamaru laughed in delight.

"You sure where scared, Iruka-sensei!"

"You mean you," Iruka said, pointing at Konohamaru before pointing up Kakashi, "and him…"

"Yes, Konohamaru knew." Kakashi said, jumping down to land gracefully beside the obviously upset Iruka and the laughing boy who had helped. "Although, I must admit, his acting was a bit over the top."

"Hey!"

"You mean to tell me," Iruka said, getting to his feet angrily with both fists clenched by his side, "that you **_deliberately_** put one of my students in danger? Just to test my abilities?"

"He wasn't in any danger," Kakashi reasoned. "I wasn't going to let him get hurt and neither were you."

"You aren't infallible!" Iruka shot back, his brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "Suppose you'd misjudged something? Konohamaru could have gotten hurt! And all because of some game you wanted to play with me?"

"It wasn't a game," Kakashi responded, eye narrowing just slightly at Iruka's suggestion that the Jounin could have made a mistake. "I had something to prove to you."

"Oh really, what's that?"

"That you're stronger than you think you are."

Silence fell over the trio as Iruka continued to stare at Kakashi, his anger evaporating instantly into surprise.

Kakashi shrugged, deciding to continue since Iruka obviously had nothing to say to that. "When we train together, you know I'm stronger than you, and you hesitate because you wonder if what you're planning to do will be enough. You second-guess everything that comes into that head of yours. I wanted to prove to you that, when you have something to protect, your strength doesn't matter. That you will do it anyway. I had to use one of your students because, lets face it, you care about little else."

"But…"

"You were awesome, Iruka-sensei," Konohamaru spoke up for the first time, grinning up at him. "The boss always said you were really good, but I never believed him. But you are!"

Iruka found himself blushing at the small boy's praise, and Kakashi chuckled. The hesitation had not disappeared completely from Iruka's attacks during the battle, but enough so that Kakashi knew he'd be hurting the next time they trained. The kunai stuck into his palm and the shuriken he'd taken to the ankle would be sure of that.

"I…I'm sorry I questioned your judgment," Iruka said, adding belatedly, "again."

Kakashi waved it off with his uninjured hand, not yet willing to say he forgave the man but not angry enough to hold a grudge. "Training is over for today, Iruka-sensei. I think you got the point."

Iruka nodded, putting a guiding hand on Konohamaru's shoulder. "Come on, Konohamaru. Why don't I treat you out for ramen? 'The boss' and I used to do it all the time…"

Konohamaru let out a whoop of delight. "He's going to be so jealous when he hears I got to eat ramen with his Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka laughed, looking over his shoulder to wave to Kakashi, and invite him along, but the Jounin was already gone.


	5. Part 1: Chapter 5

**A/N:** Heh, I'm afraid that after Chapter 4, Chapter 5 is going to look painfully dull. But there will be lots more action later! Promise! You do, however, get your very first hints of Kakashi/Iruka in this chapter (even if it is slightly one-sided and barely there). Also, Shikamaru makes an appearance…oh stop looking at me like that! He serves a real purpose! The fact that he is also excellent eye candy has very little to do with it.

**All The Broken Pieces**

_Part 1:_ _Chapter 5_

The pattern of training once in the morning for two hours (more or less) and in the evening for at least four continued for two weeks without any particular incident.

As he rubbed at his sore shoulder while walking through a _very_ early morning rain shower, Iruka was impressed that his body, in fact, did not hurt less. Just in different places.

Kakashi had, somehow, sensed that Iruka had had enough after only an hour the night before and let him go then. To show his appreciation, Iruka had decided with a great deal of difficulty that he was going to get up a half-hour early so he would be ready when Kakashi arrived an hour later.

Iruka smiled to himself as he thought of his instructor. His first impressions had been tainted by Naruto's rather colorful complaints of his treatment under Kakashi's tight fisted reign of terror. Iruka had to admit that Kakashi was the toughest teacher he'd ever met. The man demanded and expected no more than your very best every time. He was also, however, endlessly patient. He never got angry if Iruka had to run an exercise thousands of times before he got it right, which he usually did. When Naruto was older, he would appreciate that. Maybe he was appreciating it already.

The morning was eerily still, even for that time of…was it day yet? It was foggy from a night full of constant misting rain, and the only sound Iruka could hear were his own muffled footfalls as he passed through the empty back streets of his village. He opted to bypass the bridge that morning, knowing he would have time to walk back and meet Kakashi easily. He didn't know why Kakashi insisted on meeting him at the bridge everyday when their training venue never changed. Iruka suspected that Kakashi had kept the field the same because he knew Iruka felt watched by those who's names were on the stone, by Sarutobi at least if Kakashi didn't know about his parents. The bridge, however, mystified Iruka unless it was a way for Kakashi to feel close to his former team, which Iruka could understand.

As he got closer to the field, Iruka could sense that there was once again someone there before him. Iruka immediately suspected something, as no sane person with good intentions could possibly be up at four thirty in the morning- barring himself of course. Using his training to muffle his footfalls slightly, though not exactly masking his presence, Iruka stepped out onto the field. He recognized Kakashi standing in the rain instantly.

'He couldn't possibly have known I was planning on coming here early,' the chuunin-teacher thought with a frown. 'I didn't even know until last night when I got home.'

Kakashi didn't acknowledge his presence, and Iruka took a couple of steps closer. The other Nin was slumped slightly, his silver hair hanging down from the damp weather, as he stood alone in front of the memorial stone.

'It's like he's waiting for someone,' Iruka thought as he silently closed the gap between them. 'Waiting for them to come or waiting to join them…'

The thought made Iruka shudder involuntarily. He was now less than five feet away from the Jounin, and decided it was best he make his presence known so he wouldn't accidentally startle the other.

"Kakashi-sensei," Iruka whispered quietly, getting the very distinct feeling he was interrupting something as his voice slipped between the raindrops to break the silence, "what are you doing out in weather like this?"

The other man turned, and Iruka blinked in surprise. Kakashi forehead protector had been pushed up, leaving his sharingun eye exposed. The academy teacher had heard much about Kakashi's eye, but never seen it for himself. He didn't know many in Konoha that had.

"What are you doing here, Iruka-sensei?"

Kakashi's voice sent another shudder down Iruka's spine, freezing him better than the damp morning had managed so far.

"I came early," Iruka tried to explain, feeling that every word he spoke was increasingly less welcome than the last, "to get ready. I didn't realize that you'd be here already…"

"Leave," Kakashi said simply. There was more force and malice behind that word than Iruka would have liked to acknowledge. He backed up a step on instinct, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the furious Jounin as possible.

He couldn't turn and flee just yet, though. His eyes never left Kakashi's as the other nin spoke. The eye Iruka was used to seeing was narrowed into a dark brown slit, urging him further away. The crimson sharingun, however, did not mimic the movement. It was as if the eye had a mind of it's own as it looked pleadingly at Iruka, drawing him closer. In that eye he saw ache deeper that even Tsunade could reach, and it was beseeching with Iruka to take it away, to understand and soothe it.

"I'm sorry," Iruka addressed the eye softly, adding silently, 'I don't know how.'

"I said leave," Kakashi's voice was almost quivering now, his hand drifting up to his forehead protector and jerking it down. "We will not be training this morning."

With the sharingun now covered, the spell over Iruka was broken. He nodded quickly, backing up several more paces before turning and running away.

Kakashi sighed, turning back to the stone and glaring at one of the names.

"I hope you're happy," the copy-nin said to no one, as Iruka was too far away to hear him now. The wind in the leaves made the trees laugh at him.

Iruka, nearly halfway home now, shivered in the breeze as wondered at the experience he'd just had. He wasn't sure what to make of it, and realized how little he actually knew of his instructor's life. He didn't even know Kakashi had come to possess his mismatched eyes in the first place. He could not deny, no matter how surreal, that the eye of power had wanted him to stay. There had been pain there, and sadness, that Iruka admitted he wanted to somehow take away. He felt he had to, now that he'd seen it. Like one of his smallest students asking him for a cuddle to ease their hurt, Iruka couldn't possibly turn whatever it was he'd seen in Kakashi away.

Iruka wondered to himself as he unlocked his front door if it was possible that the sharingun could reveal as much truth about its user as it did the one it looked at. He found he didn't know the answer, but knew that if that were the case it would be all the more reason for Kakashi to hide it.

-------------------------------------------

Iruka decided, much later that afternoon, that the first step on his own self appointed task was to learn more about the mysterious Hatake Kakashi. If he could find out the source of Kakashi's pain, it would be much easier to get rid of it. He decided the best place to begin his researching was the hub of all Konoha gossip- the teacher's lounge.

Most nin didn't have much time for gossip, gathering bits and pieces between missions. The academy teachers, however, had very little else to do with their time. Something had to keep them sane while teaching; after all, it was the best way they had of feeling connected to the ninja on active duty.

Iruka sat in his usual seat, pulling out his lunch of rice balls. He smiled to himself as he watched his coworkers, and realized they weren't all that different from the students he taught. His classroom had been a buzz all day, the still drizzling rain making the students antsy. If the noise level was any indication, the weather had the same affect on their teachers.

"Konnichi wa, Iruka-sensei," said a bright voice behind him. Iruka turned in time to see Kurunai sitting beside him with a grin.

"Kurunai-san, what are you doing here today?" Iruka asked, smiling at the girl.

"My team was assigned to substitute a class today," she said brightly. "I just sent them home to get lunch, and I don't think I've ever seen them move so fast."

Iruka could imagine not. The image of poor shy Hinata Hyuuga at the mercy of an energetic class almost made his heart ache. "I'm glad you're at least giving them that much of a break."

The red-eyed Jounin chuckled a little to herself before cocking her head at Iruka. "So, Asuma-sensei told me you've been training with Kakashi lately. How has that been going?"

Iruka looked down at his rice ball. That couldn't have come up better if he'd asked for it. "It's been going well, actually. He's an excellent teacher. But I feel I hardly know him…what do you know about Kakashi-sensei, Kurunai-san?"

The silence that fell over the lounge was shockingly instantaneous. Iruka could feel all eyes turning on him, and he was suddenly beginning to doubt the wisdom of this task. Given the choice between the room full of silently eager sensei and the angry Kakashi of that morning, Iruka wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't choose the later.

"Well," Kurunai began, obviously about as comfortable with suddenly being the center of attention as Iruka was, "I don't know anything for sure, just what Asuma told me…"

"Well, nobody really knows anything for sure, do they?" One of the female teachers near the door spoke up. "Kakashi-san is such a private person."

"I heard," someone else said, "that he was a clone experiment gone horribly wrong and he has to wear that mask to cover his deformed face."

Iruka thought this sounded more than a little absurd, and apparently someone else did to as a slightly annoyed noise was heard from the end of the table. Iruka was relived when the eyes shifted to focus on Shikamaru, the source of the noise.

The thirteen-year-old chuunin put his feet; previously up on the table as he leaned back in his chair, onto the floor. Iruka recognized this as Shikarmaru's 'getting serious' stance, but he doubted anyone else did, as he was the only one who'd been _lucky_ enough to have the lazy genius as his student.

"Creating a clone is something a graduate can do," the teenager pointed out simply. "There's no need to experiment with them."

"Well I heard," a woman known as Sanu-sensei responded challengingly, "that he got his Sharingun because he's half Uchiha."

"Then he'd be able to turn it off," Shikamaru countered again. "That's why he keeps it covered, isn't it? There would be no reason to keep it covered if he could activate it at will."

There was a slight murmur of ascent to that logic from the other teachers, and Iruka felt sudden pride in Shikamaru. Sure, the boy was as lazy as they came but at least he didn't believe everything he heard.

"What about the rumor that he had a break down when he was younger and killed his team?"

Someone gasped at the thought, and Iruka felt his own stomach twist in knots. That would explain the pain…

Shikamaru put his feet back up and leaned back again. Apparently, this was too easy to keep him serious for long. "Would the Hokage really let a guy with a past like that take on new genin?"

"Of course not," Kurunai agreed, apparently happy to have particular rumor dispelled. "The Hokage hand chooses the sensei's for the teams based on who they will learn from the best as well as who will best protect the students. If Kakashi really had killed his former teammates in a break down, they wouldn't allow him to teach, or go on missions, or any of the things Kakashi does."

"Well he must have some secrets," Sanu-sensei spoke up again. "Why else would he keep his face covered all the time?"

"To make sure he gets talked about," Shikamaru responded lazily, picking up his chopsticks. "It would drive people like you crazy to know what's behind it."

Sanu-sensei's lavender eyes narrowed at the teenager, but several others laughed. They at least saw the humor in the fact that the thirteen-year-old had seen what all of the adults could not.

"But no one knows anything for sure?" Iruka decided to check one more time. Heads shook as the buzz of conversation resumed.

"If you want to know," Shikamaru suggested, pulling his bowl up onto his chest to minimize the distance he'd have to move the food, "I would suggest asking Sakura. She's more likely to know than anybody else."


	6. Part 1: Chapter 6

**A.N:** My most sincere apologies at misspelling Kurenai's name. I meant to check it since I wasn't sure and totally forgot. I'm really sorry you guys. That was irresponsible of me.

Lets see…there are spoilers here for Kakashi's past. If you don't know it and don't want to know it, then you can skip this chapter I guess. I know most people do know by now, but the point is Iruka doesn't and since my characters can't be omnipotent he has to learn it. Sorry that it's repetitive for you. I'll try to make the descriptions interesting to make up for it.

You do get to see Sakura in this chapter, and there's a bit more of a blatant Kakashi/Iruka hint although, I think, if the same thing happened to me as does Iruka I would blush terribly too. Also, we're over halfway through part 1. Yay!

**All The Broken Pieces**

_Part 1: Chapter 6_

Going and visiting Sakura was exactly what Iruka determined he would do. Kakashi had said nothing about canceling the afternoon training, so Iruka decided he would err on the side of caution and plan on being at the bridge at their regularly scheduled time. Even with that, it still left him a good half-hour of time to go visit his former student.

Iruka opened the door to the hospital and looked around warily, least he be jumped by an overenthusiastic healing Nin. Not seeing one in either direction, the young man crept silently into the empty reception room. He inched forward, forcing his sandaled feet to be as quiet as possible. The receptionist looked at him over her wire framed glasses and he smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I'm looking for…"

"Iruka-sensei!"

As Iruka was nearly slammed into the counter by the force of Sakura's hug, he realized he hadn't missed moments like this nearly as much as he'd thought. Using the counter to right himself completely, Iruka turned and smiled down at the pink haired girl. "Hello, Sakura-chan. Just the girl I wanted to see."

Sakura stepped back, her green eyes wide. "You're not hurt, are you sensei?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just haven't seen you in so long that I thought I'd come and see you."

Sakura smiled sweetly at him, twirling a few strands of her prized pink hair. "Tsunade-sama has been keeping me busy."

"Well, do you have time for a break?"

The girl gave this some serious thought before nodding, "I can take a short break if we don't go far. You don't mind the hospital cafeteria, do you Sensei?"

Iruka winced visibly. He did mind, in fact, quite a bit. He closed his eyes and recalled Kakashi as he'd seen him that morning, steeling his resolve to face the detested hospital food at it's source. "It's fine, Sakura-chan."

Sakura grinned again, leading him down the twisting depths of the hospital hallways, to the very heart of its basement. Iruka could feel his heart pounding in his throat. He really hated hospitals. They always reminded him of failed missions and death. There was no hope in a hospital.

"Have you heard anything from Naruto-kun lately?" Sakura asked softly once they'd sat down, placing a paper cup of some sort of brownish liquid in front of him.

"I got a letter from him yesterday," Iruka managed a real smile as he said it. "He's enthusiastic about his training is going, and sends you his best wishes. He told me that he and Jiraiya would be moving about again shortly, but he'd get me his address as soon as possible."

It had taken Naruto the better part of four pages to say that between his sloppy handwriting and rather verbose way of stating his progress, but Iruka was sure Sakura didn't need to hear most of that. Half of it he couldn't have said without turning red anyway.

"I'm glad to hear it," Sakura responded softly, taking a sip of the liquid. Iruka followed her example and nearly choked. This stuff made the instant cheap coffee in the teacher's lounge taste good.

His disgust must have shown on his face as Sakura laughed. "It's an enhanced blend of herbs to help us keep our energy up."

"It's disgusting," Iruka said, putting the glass as far away from him as possible.

"Most things that are good for you are," Sakura responded, sounding very much like her mother.

Iruka made another face as he recalled his least favorite food, steamed vegetables and rice. "Yes, I suppose that's true. How about you, Sakura-chan? How is you're training going, besides keeping you very busy?"

"Tsunade-sama has taught me a lot," Sakura grinned; a smug look on her face that Iruka thought actually suited her quite nicely. "I could definitely beat Ino now."

"I would hope so. The chuunin exams are coming up again. I'm certain you could pass this time."

Sakura partially turned and smiled at the man. "Thank you, sensei."

"I actually have my own studying to worry about," Iruka said, rubbing his scar subconsciously as Sakura turned to look at him in surprise. "Hokage-sama seems to think I need to advance to Jounin level."

"You as a Jounin, Iruka-sensei?" The obvious doubt on Sakura's face almost hurt.

"Hai," he continued to grin. "She's assigned Kakashi-sensei to teach me."

Sakura almost choked on her sip of drink. "You…and Kakashi-sensei!"

Iruka blinked, not entirely sure why it sounded like Sakura was stating that they were a couple and why he wasn't more than a little disturbed by that thought.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei has very politely agreed to teach me to become a Jounin," Iruka shifted uncomfortably, realizing for the first time that simply asking the girl what she knew about Kakashi would be awkward. She'd want to know why he wanted to know, and trying to explain what he'd seen to a teenager didn't sound like a very good idea. "But, you see, in the process I'm afraid he's gotten some blackmail on me…" Iruka thought it was a good excuse in spite of Sakura's dubious look, so he continued. "So I was wondering if you could help me. No one knows much about him, and I thought maybe since you'd been his student you'd know more about his past…"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sensei. Kakashi-sensei never told us much about himself. All I really know that could possibly help you is that he hates tempura. Naruto put some in with his noodles," Sakura winced at the memory. "That didn't end well."

Iruka took a moment to process this information, realizing that it wasn't at all useful to his current cause although very interesting. "So you don't know anything about Kakashi's past?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry sensei, but…"

"Iruka-sensei!"

Sakura and Iruka both jumped, turning to face a rather annoyed looking Tsunade in the doorway. Sakura looked rather flustered, and Iruka looked sheepish.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Why are you distracting my apprentice so you can dig up gossip?"

Iruka felt mildly insulted. "It's not gossip, Hokage-sama!"

"Oh really," Tsunade did not look impressed. "Can't you people ever understand that the man just likes his privacy and wants to be left alone?"

Iruka clenched his fists tightly, and he was sure he was radiating heat as Sakura backed away slowly. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I don't intend to gossip about Kakashi-sensei at all. I just…"

Iruka faltered, not sure how to explain what it was he just wanted to do anyway. Saying he wanted to help Kakashi, to get to known him, was in fact true…but it didn't seem to be the right way to say it. "It's complicated, Hokage-sama, but I wasn't just digging up rumors."

"That's why I put my money on you, Iruka," Tsunade murmured, watching him with keen brown eyes. "You've still got fire in you. Asuma doesn't know that. He doesn't remember you as a genin like I do."

Iruka recoiled inwardly. Few people associated him with his genin self, and he wanted to keep it that way. Still, it wasn't everyday the Hokage gave you a compliment, so Iruka forced a smile on his face. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"So, is this recent fascination of yours dangerous to the outcome of my bet?"

Iruka smiled a little bit, this time for real. "Possibly. Depends on whether Kakashi catches on or not."

Tsunade nodded, motioning him to follow her. "Come with me, Sensei. Sakura-chan, finish your tea and get back to work."

The pink haired girl nodded as Iruka stood and followed Tsunade down the hall and into an empty room. She hopped up onto one of the beds and eyed Iruka evenly. "Alright, Iruka, whatever happened you didn't want to say in front of Sakura-chan. Did Kakashi kiss your or something?"

Iruka blanched. Now **_that_** he had issues with. "Nothing like that, Hokage-sama. I just…this morning I stumbled upon him at the monument. He seemed in such pain…I wanted to help."

Tsunade regarded him with a mixture of sympathy and surprise as Iruka fidgeted slightly.

"So you think," she said slowly, "that by learning about his past you can help Kakashi? I'm glad to see your sensei didn't destroy your feelings completely."

Iruka winced again. "I wish you wouldn't keep bringing him up, Hokage-sama."

"Yes…I suppose that's still a sensitive topic for all of us. My apologies."

Iruka fidgeted again, staring out the window just past Tsunade's head.

"Well, I can't tell you much," Tsunade said, and the brown haired chuunin looked at her directly in surprise, "but I can tell you what I know. Tell me, what do you know about Sakumo Hatake?"

Iruka paused, searching deep in his memory. After his parents' death, he had forced himself to recall everything about them, etching even his most distant memories in his mind forever so he would never lose them. "I remember my mother once called him a poor wretched man. That's all, really."

"Alright, then, let me rephrase the question. What do you know of the White Fang of Konoha?"

"He cost the village a great deal by sacrificing the success of his mission to save his teammates," Iruka said automatically. He usually used the story to teach his students that they would sometimes have to make truly difficult discussions, and only they could decide the answers, but they would have to live with the consequences either way. He knew some of the other teachers disagreed with this, but they disagreed with most of the things he did so that was okay.

"The White Fang and Sakumo Hatake were the same person. Kakashi's father."

Iruka was silent, trying to recall anything farther the man, but he had simply been too young. All he could manage was a vague sensation of his mother's hand holding his own, and a soft murmur of 'poor wretched Sakumo-sama'.

"After that mission, Sakumo fell from the public favor. He was shunned from society, abandoned by those who used to respect him. He was considered a poor ninja- though at is best he was probably on the same level as myself- outcasted from his own home. Children would even throw rocks at him; other ninja would refuse assignments with him…and Kakashi himself suffered as well. He already had a hard enough time fitting in. Kakashi was a protégé, the only one of his age. He'd graduated from the academy before kids his own age had even entered it."

'_I was a chuunin when I was half Naruto's age._' Iruka recalled Kakashi saying. He hadn't realized the other man had literally meant that.

"After that, Kakashi was pushed even further from those who should have been his friends."

Another faint memory- this one without sound- of his father protecting a young silver haired boy, not much bigger than Iruka himself in a Ninja uniform far too large for him, from a group of older chuunin.

"This shame and loneliness was more than the mentally unstable Sakumo could take. He preformed seppuku. It was Kakashi that found him."

Iruka felt his breath catch in his throat. He had seen his parents' bodies just after the battle, lying dead side-by-side. It was something that still haunted his darkest nightmares. He could remember the hurt, the anger of them choosing to leave him behind. He couldn't even imagine how much more intensely Kakashi had felt those feelings, and the guilt of feeling them for someone you loved.

"That's all I know," Tsunade whispered. "Anything more than that, and you will have to ask those closer to Kakashi's age. I would try Guy-sensei if I were you. He's probably the closest Kakashi has to a friend."

Iruka bowed deeply, his brow creased in thought. "Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama."

-------------------------------------------------------

Iruka arrived at the bridge, slightly out of breath and definitely sweating, just moments before Kakashi did. He really wished he'd had more time to process the things Tsunade had told him about the other man, but he didn't want to risk being late and angering Kakashi farther.

Kakashi's one eye stared at him before curving up in a smile. "Running late at the Academy, Sensei?"

Hoping it wasn't a trick, Iruka nodded. He'd already decided that if Kakashi didn't mention that morning then he wouldn't either. Not until he was ready to confront him with everything.

"You have an impressive amount of chakara, for a chuunin," Kakashi explained as they started to walk. "But you lack a very fine control of it."

Iruka nodded. He had been told this before.

"So, today we're going to work on minute control. You're going to climb trees."

Iruka made a face, causing Kakashi's grin to turn slightly sadistic as he finished. "On your hands."

Iruka stopped walking and stared as Kakashi continued. After a moment or two of opened mouth gaping, during which Iruka concluded this was the Jounin's twisted form of revenge, he ran to catch up to the other man. "On my hands? What do you mean by that?"

"Just what I said. You'll be starting by doing a handstand, and then you'll walk up the tree on your hands."

"Oh," Iruka muttered, looking down at his hands as they entered the clearing.

"You _can_ do a handstand, can't you?"

Iruka glared at Kakashi's smile. "I could when I was fourteen. I haven't tried since then. Honestly, when was the last time you did a handstand?"

"Maa, this isn't about me, Sensei," Kakashi responded easily, "this is about your training."

"This is about a handstand.'

"It's about if you can do a handstand."

"I can!"

"You think."

Iruka growled slightly, putting his hands in front of him and then swinging them up as he deliberately turned himself upside down. He managed to remain stumbling around on his hands for several seconds before his wrist gave out and he face planted into the ground. He opened his eyes to see Kakashi standing over him, hands on hips and eye still curved in a smile, though it was less dramatic than before.

"That was better than I expected," Kakashi said brightly.

"I hate you."

"That's a start."

The younger man growled, pushing himself off the ground to try again. Another half-hour of trial and error had Iruka ready for his attempt to climb. He focused his chakara into his fingertips and began his ascent. Much to his surprise, this worked considerably better than just getting up onto his hands had. He had enough time to think 'hey, I can do this,' before his hands slid and his nose had yet another close encounter with the ground.

"Ow." Iruka complained, sitting up and rubbing both hands over the bruised appendage to be sure it wasn't broken.

"If you want to give up…" Kakashi said lazily, hands in his pockets as he regarded his 'student'.

"You wish." Iruka got to his feet once more and backed up a step, flipping over so his shirt slid down over his face, and began his attack on the tree once more.

"Now I know where Naruto learned his persistence," Kakashi muttered to himself. As the chuunin climbed higher each time, in spite of probably aching shoulders, Kakashi couldn't help but be mildly impressed. By twilight he felt comfortable enough about not getting crushed that he was leaning under the same tree Iruka was climbing. "You're doing well, sensei," he said brightly, pulling out his Icha Icha book.

Iruka looked down at him, and caught sight of the picture on the page below him. Two girls, both scantily clad, kissing each other.

Iruka's concentration slid in his shock, and with a yelp he crashed down onto Kakashi below him. He opened his eyes with a small groan and blinked several times. All e could see was black cloth. He lifted his head and saw long legs and feet.

It took a beat for Iruka to realize what part of Kakashi's anatomy that put his mouth close to, and another couple for that to register and process where that meant Kakashi's cloth covered mouth was. He scrambled off Kakashi with a small and rather un-ninja like squeak, his face, neck, and ears burning. Kakashi sat up and looked at him with a vaguely amused expression.

"I'm-I'm sorry," Iruka stuttered, wishing he could suddenly be attacked by a bunch of rabid squirrels. "I didn't mean t-to…your book, and I just…"

"Did it bother you, Sensei?"

"Not really," Iruka conceded, "but it did take me off guard."

Kakashi chuckled. "May you never fight an Amazon."

Iruka scowled, rubbing a hand over his still flaming face. "You are the most awful, perverted…"

"I wasn't the one trying to molest you, Iruka-sensei. You were the one who attacked me because you saw an arousing picture."

Iruka squawked indignantly. "I wasn't! It wasn't! It was an accident!"

"Of course it was," Kakashi grinned. "You're completely allowed to keep telling yourself that."

Iruka threw a nearby stick at Kakashi's head, which the Jounin caught easily while still laughing.


	7. Part 1: Chapter 7

**A/N:** I hope you all enjoyed part six as much as I did. Foreshadowing and random Kakashi/Iruka moments abound! This one isn't quite as much fun. It explains more about the bet and move the plot slightly foreword (they all do, in some ways, but that's because there's more than one plot to this) as well as a good sign of Kakashi and Iruka's growing friendship…the first step toward true love!

**All The Broken Pieces**

_Part 1: Chapter 7_

Much to Iruka's disappointment, Guy and his team were currently off on an escorting mission and weren't due back for another week. If Iruka tracked it right, that would leave him only a month to figure out how to help Kakashi- as Kakashi had explained their two-month time limit.

It couldn't really be helped, though, and he'd have to get what he could from Guy when the man got back. In the mean time, he decided he would try to get information from the other Jounin. Kurenai was already ruled out, but she was younger. He also doubted Anko would know much more than he did, and the others were too busy with their own lives to know much about Kakashi's. He took an internal vote at it was decided by the majority that his next best bet would be Asuma. The man seemed to know pretty much everything anyway.

Saturday morning was free for Iruka. Kakashi had decided in the beginning that it was only fair they take one morning off at least. Iruka wasn't entirely sure why he'd decided this- though he suspected Kakashi just got tired of waking up so early everyday- but he wasn't going to complain.

He walked down the streets of Konoha silently, keeping his eyes open for the trail of smoke that meant Asuma was nearby. He could usually smell the smoke before he saw the Jounin anyway, which always made him wonder how Asuma could sneak up on anybody. And why Kurenai liked him, but that was a different matter entirely.

Iruka opened the door to one of Team 10's favorite restaurants, and grinned when he saw two familiar figures sitting at a counter.

"Choji," Asuma said, rubbing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "When I said all the barbeque you could eat, I meant within reason."

"But sensei," the tubby boy whined, "I'm tired after you worked us so hard yesterday!"

"Ohayougozaimasu, Asuma-sensei," Iruka said brightly, walking up to the pair. "Ohayou, Choji!"

"Ohayou, Iruka-sensei," Asuma said wearily, giving him a look that Iruka knew too well; the look of a teacher who was officially out of ideas.

Choji muttered something that might have been a good morning but it was hard to understand him with his mouth full.

"Why don't you sit down, Iruka-sensei," Asuma muttered, gesturing first to an empty chair beside him and then to Choji's swiftly growing pile of plates. "We could be here a while."

Iruka chuckled, settling himself beside Asuma as the other man lit a new cigarette.

"So," the Jounin said, putting out his match on the counter. The shop owner sent him an angry look, but seemed to think better of saying anything as he was obviously going to have to pay well for his student. "If this is about Shikamaru slacking off and not grading his students homework…"

Iruka laughed. "Nothing like that, Asuma-sensei! Shikamaru takes his responsibilities as an academy instructor very seriously."

Asuma smirked slightly, glancing over at Choji. "Seriously for Shikamaru, you mean."

"Of course," Iruka smiled, declining to order with a wave of his hand. "I actually just had some questions for you."

"Alright, ask away."

Iruka twisted his hands slight and looked at Asuma. "I need to ask…what do you know about Kakashi-sensei's past?"

Asuma shifted the cigarette to the side of his mouth and raised an eyebrow, while Choji attempted to chew more quietly.

"Why do you ask, Sensei?"

"Well…" Iruka shifted uncomfortably. "He's been teaching me to become a Jounin, and I thought we could be friends but…Kakashi-sensei is such a private person…"

Once upon a time, Iruka had been a great liar. Even when his parent's were alive, he could usually get away with pranks by having a nearly full proof alibi. Now it seemed he was getting worse by the day.

For whatever reason, Asuma seemed to decide Iruka's answer a sufficient one.

"I don't know any details," Asuma said slowly, scratching his chin. "All I know is that Kakashi once said that everyone who cared for him was dead."

Iruka blinked a couple of times, taken aback by this. He'd kind of assumed when Tsunade had mentioned nothing of his mother that she had been dead before his father…but everyone?

"Surely he has some friends…"

"He has Guy, in a way, but there's something seriously wrong with Guy so he doesn't really count. Friends are normal people who do normal things together, not have insane competitions. How many times have you seen him with anyone but his students?"

Iruka paused to think about this and shook his head, "well never, but…"

"Neither have I. He doesn't do anything with the rest of us. If he's not training with a team of some kind, he is alone. It's hard to have friends like that."

"But not impossible," Iruka muttered, deciding now to order some water. He took a sip.

"Do you think he's a friend, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka inhaled a mouthful of water and started choking on it.

"He already said that, Asuma-sensei," Choji complained as his teacher began to laugh.

"So he did. I forgot."

Iruka glared at Asuma, knowing now that the sensei hadn't bought his lie for a moment. Although, now that he thought about it, it was true. Over the last several weeks, he had come to see Kakashi as a friend. His firm but always-patient guidance was a nice change, and he seemed to see Iruka in a way no one had bothered to for a long time.

"You are aware that Kakashi is doing this because Tsunade-sama and I have a bet, aren't you?"

Iruka nodded again. "Kakashi-sensei told me that at the beginning, although at the time he didn't know who it was that had the other end."

"Why would you bet the Hokage?" Choji asked, pausing in his munching.

"Because you should always know your enemies weakness," Asuma advised his student with a wink. "Tsunade-sama loves to gamble…but always loses. When we were discussing chuunin who could be brought up a rank, she suggested you. I told her you couldn't do it."

Iruka felt deeply insulted by this. True, he didn't feel his skills were up to a Jounin's standards but that didn't mean he couldn't learn! His feelings must have shown on his face, as usual, because Asuma chuckled again.

"Don't look so hurt, Iruka-sensei! I know better than anyone how skilled you are…but you lack one very important thing to be a Jounin."

"Lack something?" Iruka felt his eyebrow twitch. "What is that exactly, Asuma-sensei?"

"Killer instinct."

Asuma had his eyes closed, so he didn't see as Choji did the dark look that passed over Iruka's face before the chuunin turned to take another sip of his water.

"Tsunade-sama seemed to think you had it in you, somewhere, but you can't possibly when you haven't killed any of your students yet."

"He's right, Sensei," Choji said brightly, thinking back on their particular class. He was gentle by nature, but if he'd had himself, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Naruto all in one class he thought he would have lost it even more than Iruka-sensei had.

"Of course," Iruka said, not looking over at them anymore, but staring at the wall behind the bar.

"Have you ever killed anyone, Iruka?"

Iruka looked down at his hands silently, shutting his eyes as if it would somehow stop what he knew he would see.

_He opened his eyes to see his kunai stabbed deep into the chest before him. Warm blood ran down his arm as the boy in front of him coughed, his breathing ragged. Iruka's kunai had pierced one of the other boy's lungs._

_Iruka looked up into dark blue eyes, now wide with fear, as they began to glaze over and brown bangs fell into his face. Iruka gasped, his throat tightening._

"_Hayate-kun!"_

"_Hayate!"_

_The other boy didn't respond as his body fell backward, off Iruka and his weapon, onto the dusty ground of the third stage of the Chuunin exam._

_Iruka felt his breath coming in short gasps as his throat closed. He felt like he was going to be sick as the blood of his best friend dripped down his arm. He heard someone appear behind him._

"_Excellent job, Iru-kun. Just like I taught you." The owner of the voice practically purred in his ear._

_A hand on his shoulder, and Iruka felt like he couldn't move as medic Nin rushed to Hayate's side._

"_Sensei," one of them asked, "what would you like us to do with this one?"_

"_Isn't he dead yet?"_

"That's what I thought," Asuma said, mistakenly taking Iruka's silence for an admission that he was correct in assuming Iruka had never killed anyone before. "You're too good a person to be a Jounin, Iruka-sensei. Kakashi may be skilled, but he can't teach you those sorts of things."

"Thank you for your time, Asuma-sensei," Iruka said, standing up quickly and forcing a smile on his face. "I'm afraid I have to go now. I just realized I'm going to be late for a tutoring session with some students. Thank you for your time. Good-bye, Asuma-sensei. Choji."

Iruka was off before they even had time to respond, and Asuma looked over at his student.

"Was it something I said?"

Choji snorted in response.

--------------------------------------------

Kakashi sighed as he knocked Iruka into a tree for the fifth time that night. Iruka had been steadily improving the last few weeks, and Kakashi had even begun to believe they might meet the deadline. Tonight, however, it seemed like all his hard work had vanished and they were back to square one. Iruka was distracted and timid, even reluctant, to try and get anywhere near Kakashi as they spared.

He smiled as Iruka sat up slowly. "Lets take a break, shall we, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka nodded mutely, he'd hardly spoken all night, as he came and sat by Kakashi under a different tree.

The Jounin pulled out Icha Icha to allow the man a few moments to gather his thoughts before he spoke in a disinterested tone. "Something happened today, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka jumped, but tried to hide it by pushing a rock with his foot a moment afterwards. "What would make you say that, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi smiled slightly behind his mask. At least the chuunin hadn't tried to deny it. "You're not concentrating today. In fact, I'd say you've gone backwards. That doesn't normally happen, in my experience."

Iruka sighed and was silent for a long moment before he looked up at the leaves overhead. "Kakashi-sensei…do you really think I could become a Jounin?"

The question took Kakashi off guard, and he lowered Icha Icha just slightly even though he managed to keep his bored composure. "Hm?"

"Do you really think I have what it takes to become a Jounin?"

"That's a difficult question Iruka-sensei. When you let yourself, you have the skill."

"But?"

"I didn't say that."

"You did stop. There's a but."

Kakashi smiled slightly. He'd forgotten how observant teachers were. "But you lack the desire to kill. Not that you can't, though I don't think you have, but you certainly don't want to hurt anyone." Maybe, he reflected, that had more to do with his hesitation then his self-doubt had.

"For all you know, I've killed thousands of people," Iruka replied darkly, pulling a kunai out of his holster and spinning it.

"That's true," Kakashi had to admit, realizing he knew nearly as little about Iruka's past as Iruka probably knew of his own. "But regardless of what you've done in the past, you refuse to do it now. When I had Konohamaru, you would do anything but strike a fatal blow."

"You should be grateful for that."

"If I were Konohamaru and the situation had been real, I wouldn't have been."

Iruka didn't respond to that, and Kakashi closed his book fully. He couldn't read while having a serious conversation like that anyway.

"You told Konohamaru once that trying to do more than he could would place his teammates in danger. That's true, but so is the opposite. If I were your teammate on a mission, I would be nervous because I wouldn't be sure you would be able to watch my back if I needed you. You eventually stop the enemy, true, but sometimes your way would simply take too long."

Iruka took even himself off guard as he whispered, "my sensei told me the same thing, often. He said I was slowing down my team by not wanting to kill."

Kakashi was surprised. There was a difference between wanting to kill and needing to. He turned partway around to look at Iruka. "Who was your sensei?"

Instead of answering, the brown-haired man looked at the sunset and jumped to his feet. "It's getting late! I want to hit you at least once tonight before I go home, and I have papers to grade before bed. We should get going."

Kakashi shook his head and stood up. So, Iruka didn't want to talk about it. He could respect that…for now.

"Alright then, Iruka-sensei. Take your stance again."


	8. Part 1: Chapter 8

**A/N:** Several people have told me that I've spelt Guy's name wrong, and I'm telling you now I didn't! Fansubs have often dubbed his name as **Maito Gai**, a direct and unaltered transliteration of the character's name, but the second official Naruto data book (_Hiden: Tō no Sho_) states his name as Might Guy. I have to admit, though, that I'm mildly amused that only one person told me I spelt Kurenai's name wrong and a bunch of you keep insisting I spelt Guy wrong.

**All The Broken Pieces**

_Part I: Chapter 8_

Originally, Iruka had intended to give Guy and his team a few days to settle back into routine without disturbing them. He didn't want to give the impression he was too curious about Kakashi. As more of his questions either lead to dead ends or more painful memories, however, Iruka's curiosity about the Jounin's past was rapidly becoming an obsession. He needed to figure out how Kakashi had kept his life a secret in a village full of shinobi, those who should have been used to looking underneath the underneath.

Since the C-ranked mission had gone exactly as planned, and none of Guy's team had gotten injured, Iruka guessed it would probably be all right to go do some investigating. He found them at one of the training grounds, running an exercise in dodging. Well, Neji and Lee were dodging. Tenten was throwing weapons at them with such venom that Iruka had to wonder if the two boys hadn't been spying on her while she was changing. You never could tell with Team Guy.

"Ohayougozaimasu, Guy-sensei," Iruka said brightly, walking up to the green clad Jounin with his arms full of papers.

"Ah," Guy responded, turning to him while keeping his ears open for any sounds of injury from the boys, "Ohayou, Iruka-sensei! It is a beautiful morning to be out and enjoying the fullness of one's youth, no?"

"Er…" He'd forgotten how difficult getting Guy to speak in a way he understood could be. "Yes, of course."

Guy seemed pleased with this, and he smiled at the teacher. Iruka found himself mildly wondering if the man used bleach as mouthwash to get his teeth to do that. He shook his head to clear it and returned Guy's grin.

"I had a question for you, Guy-sensei."

"I will do my best to help a fellow Konoha shinobi," the man said, so seriously that Iruka almost laughed. Luckily, years of dealing with children had trained him to keep a straight face when utterly ridiculous things were treated as the end of the world. He decided he would start with the truth first and gradually turn the conversation toward his desired goal.

"Some of my students are having a really hard time mastering some of the upper level techniques. They're getting discouraged, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring in a motivational speaker…"

"I would be most honored to, Iruka-sensei," Guy said excitedly. "Remind the treasured youth of Konoha of their own strength!"

"You're welcome to come, Guy-sensei," Iruka said, unable to repress a slight smile this time around. "I'm sure you'd make a great speaker…but they get enough listening to adults. I was thinking someone closer to their own age, and I was wondering if I could borrow Lee-san."

If possible, Guy seemed even more excited about this. "Yes! Youth responds best to one of their own…not that you and I are not youthful, Iruka-sensei." Guy clenched his fists, tears springing to his eyes. "Lee could teach them about fighting for their way of the ninja against all odds!"

Iruka sighed inwardly. Kakashi couldn't tell him showing his emotions would prevent him from getting Jounin rank now if Guy could do it.

At the thought of his teacher, Iruka became focused once more. "I'm so glad to hear Lee-san will be able to come! I'm also supposed to get speakers for the other classes, but I'm out of ideas. Since you're so…youthful…yourself I thought maybe you could help me come up with a few…"

"I would be honored, Iruka-sensei!" He paused long enough to yell to his team to take a short break, but to be ready again in ten minutes or they would have to run 200 laps around Konoha. Lee actually looked excited about that idea, and Iruka had to wonder how much Guy was actually letting the still recovering boy train. Probably not as much as Lee would have liked. "What kind of speakers are you looking for, Iruka-sensei?"

"Well…one of my classes is full of troublemakers," Iruka thought of Konohamaru and his friends. All definitely troublemakers of the worst sort. "I thought maybe a Jounin would be best for them. To intimidate them into listening, you see." Iruka cut the other man off by raising his hand and smiling mildly. "I'm sure you could do it, Guy-sensei, but I fear you youthfulness and virility would overwhelm them."

He very nearly blanched. Had he just used the word virility with Guy-sensei?

The Green Monster of Konoha was simply nodding in response. "I fear you are right, Iruka-sensei. I would not want them to become to eager to become as great as I am and hurt themselves."

This was said with such sincerity that Iruka could only stare.

"How about Genma-san?"

Iruka shook his head. "Genma substitutes sometimes…and he swore to never get in front of that class again."

Guy looked surprised. "Are they really that bad?"

Iruka nodded, keeping his face as serious as possible. "That bad."

"Ah. Asuma-sensei?"

"Teaches at the academy when not with a team. Besides, I wouldn't want him smoking in my class room."

"Anko-san?"

Iruka shuddered slightly. She could, and would, tell more stories about Iruka's childhood than anybody else. Sure, he'd told Naruto about his past but that didn't mean he wanted all his student's to know! It appeared Guy wasn't going to come up with the idea on his own, so Iruka decided to take control of the conversation. "I was thinking perhaps Kakashi-sensei…"

"My eternal rival would truly be a great and intimidating speaker…if you could get him to talk."

Iruka had to concede that Guy had a point there. Getting Kakashi to speak more than necessary was difficult. About himself…Iruka was sure that was near impossible.

"He is one of the most famous Nin in Konoha…but if you don't mind me asking, Guy-sensei, what would set his apart from the other Jounin to make him so great?"

From the suddenly light that seemed to click on in Guy's head, Iruka realized he'd underestimated the man's intelligence. Once again, he'd been caught.

"So, you too have fallen into the trap of curiosity about my eternal rival."

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Iruka insisted. He was going to get quite the reputation as a gossip at this rate. "And I do want Lee to come speak to my class. But I've been spending a lot of time with him lately and I want to know more about him."

"Have you asked him?" Guy asked seriously.

"Not exactly," Iruka confessed, "but I have my reasons for that." Those reasons being that if he asked Kakashi flat out then Kakashi would return the favor in kind, and Iruka wasn't willing to tell. He wasn't the one with an eye that went around begging people for help, after all.

"A youthful crush perhaps, Iruka-sensei?"

"Why do people keep insisting that?" Iruka scowled, and Guy chuckled. "I just want to help him, that's all."

Guy looked at him, curious now as his team began their training once more. "You want to help my eternal rival? What could a chuunin such as yourself possibly be able to help him with?"

Iruka knew that the question was valid, and that Guy certainly didn't mean to insult him, but it stung nonetheless. "I can tell he's had a hard past and lost much. Tsunade-sama already told me about his father…I want to help him."

"You do not fear him?"

Iruka shook his head. He'd never feared any of his fellow Konoha shinobi, no matter their rank. "You think after the exam nominations you would realize that."

"Desperation to protect what is precious to you will conquer fear."

"I'm not intimidated by Kakashi-sensei."

Guy seemed to ponder this for a while before nodding slowly. "We shall have a match then."

Iruka swallowed slightly. He knew he was much stronger now than he had been a month ago, but that did not mean he was ready to face Guy in anything just yet.

"We shall have the challenge of Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

Iruka gaped at the other man, and knew he was gaping, but he couldn't help it.

"Should Mistress Fate decide you are deserving of knowing the secrets of my eternal rival's past, then I shall tell you all. If not, you may challenge me again when you feel you are deserving."

Iruka groaned. He didn't personally believe in fate or luck. If he did, that would mean admitting that someone somewhere had it in for him.

"Shall we begin, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka nodded, lifting his right hand.

"Steady then…go."

Iruka extended two fingers on instinct, making scissors. Guy's hand remained in a fist.

"Rock crushes scissors. It appears fate has not smiled upon you today, Iruka-sensei. When you have done something worthy of my eternal rival, come back and we shall talk again."

-----------------------------------------------------

Kakashi looked up from rereading his book as Iruka angrily punched a nearby tree. It wasn't as if the tree had done anything to earn such abuse. Iruka was supposed to be working on increasing the speed at which he could make seals. He'd only been going at it for half an hour, and Kakashi found it unusual that Iruka should get so frustrated so quickly.

He jumped down gracefully, landing next to his student and stopping his hands. "You're not yourself today, Iruka-sensei. Did something happen again?"

Iruka sighed, relaxing his hands instantly under Kakashi's touch. Kakashi noticed this, but said nothing about it. Iruka pulled his hands away and smiled sheepishly at Kakashi. "It's silly, really."

"It can't be that silly if it's upset you so much," Kakashi demanded, surprised by his own concern. Had it been Naruto, Sakura, or even Sasuke this upset he wouldn't have been so insistent about it then. He supposed it was because Iruka was only a few years younger than himself, and he figured it would take more to upset him then it did the hormonal teenagers.

Iruka blushed slightly, looking down at the ground. "I lost to Guy-sensei at rock, paper, scissors."

Taking even himself by surprise, Kakashi started to laugh. Not his normal soft chuckle, but an all out laugh.

Iruka scowled up at him, taking a few steps away as if suddenly realizing how close they'd been standing. "It's not that funny."

"I'm not going to ask why you decided to compete against Guy," Kakashi said, regaining control of himself and trying to sooth the chuunin's ruffled feathers. "But I know I could help you beat him next time if you want."

Iruka's face visibly brightened. "Would you?"

Kakashi nodded, returning the chuunin's infectious smile unseen. "We'll consider it a lesson in observing your enemy. To beat your enemy, you sometimes have to think like your enemy."

Iruka made a face. "I have to think like Guy-sensei?"

Kakashi chuckled in appreciation. "Not exactly appealing, is it?"

"Not really."

"Tell me, what do you know about Guy?"

Iruka frowned to himself. "I know he's a pedophile. Him and his obsession with youth."

Kakashi snickered again. Iruka's sense of humor he could definitely appreciate.

Iruka grinned, more relaxed now, before thinking seriously. "I know he is one of the best Jounin in Konoha. He trains extreme amounts, and usually in ridiculous but effective ways."

"Good. During these infamous trainings, what does he tend to focus on?"

The chuunin frowned, momentarily lost in thought, before answering slowly, "his body. None of the obscure training I've heard of him doing focuses on improving ninjutsu or genjutsu skills."

Kakashi nodded. "He is a taijutsu expert, even though his other skills are not to be underestimated."

"I've never seen him use anything else."

"He's a bit biased…"

"Toward things he can completely control!" Iruka's face seemed to brighten now as his train of thought led him exactly where Kakashi had hoped it would. "He likes best things that are constant and solid, like taijutsu. Ninjutsu or genjutsu depend on several things, including the area your in. They're constantly changing. Taijutsu depends on you, and you always know your body's limits. With that preference, he'll automatically choose rock!"

"Nine times out of ten," Kakashi grinned at his student and his obvious excitement at having figured that out. "Sometimes he'll vary it, but not very often."

"Arigatogozaimasu, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka said, smiling genuinely at the silver haired Jounin.

Kakashi simply shrugged, returning the smile. Something about the chuunin's mood was catching, and he felt better himself than he had in a long time. He playfully pushed the chuunin back toward the field. "You have seals to be speeding up."

Iruka nodded, returning to his practice with much more enthusiasm as Kakashi watched him- Icha Icha completely forgotten.


	9. Part 1: Chapter 9

**A/N:** I'm almost done with Part I! Yay! That means that I can focus more on Kakashi and Iruka's slowly budding relationship. Well, a little bit. I still have a lot of questions to answer, don't I? Well, no worries! You'll have all your answers by the end. If not then, then in the sequel that has slowly worked it's way into my head. But more on that later. For now, the story!

_**All the Broken Pieces  
**Part 1: Chapter 9_

Iruka arrived at the practice field where he'd seen Guy and his team the day before in record time. He'd been contemplating how best to challenge Guy for most of the day- much to the delight of his classes because a distracted Iruka-sensei was always a fun Iruka-sensei. He had finally reached the conclusion that small and simple was probably the best way to go, and he was eager to try it out.

He jogged up to the group, finding that this time it was a tracking exercise for Neji- without using his Byakugan. Rock Lee and Tenten were no where to be seen as the Hyuuga genius was using all his self-restraint to not use his best jutsu and find them easily.

Guy looked genuinely surprised to see him approaching. "Back again so soon, Iruka-sensei? Your wound licking prowess is truly inspiring."

Iruka waved his hand, deciding it wasn't worth the energy of deciding whether that was intended as an insult or a compliment. "I'm afraid I'm notoriously stubborn, Guy-sensei, and I am refusing to be deterred from my goal. You are the only person who has given me any indication that they know anything about Kakashi. I've come this far and suffered this much humiliation, and I refuse to turn back now."

"Your youthful determination is also inspiring, Iruka-sensei," Guy murmured. Iruka momentarily thought that Guy murmuring anything was creepy all on it's own.

"But?"

"But my esteemed rival is more than that. He is also my friend…and friend's do not tell the others secrets without the very best of reasons."

"I **_have_** a good reason, Guy-sensei."

Guy didn't seem to be convinced by just his words alone and raised a bushy eyebrow. "If your cause is truly as noble as you think, Iruka-sensei, why not just ask him yourself? You said you aren't afraid of him, and if you aren't just digging up gossip there is no other reason for you not to get the answers from the source."

"But there are other reasons," Iruka implored, slightly frustrated. "Many other complicated reasons involving rather painful things…"

Guy waited for him to explain and Iruka simply shook his head.

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't mind Kakashi-sensei's privacy. I can very much relate to wish the past remain exactly where it's at. But the Sharingun asked for my help…"

Guy looked at Iruka as if the younger man had just informed him he was going missing-nin, and since this was Guy looking at him like that Iruka felt distinctly uncomfortable.

"My cool and hip rival's eye asked for your help?"

When worded that way, Iruka realized how ridiculous it sounded. "Yes. Well…kind of. Not with words. I mean…it's sort of…"

"Complicated," Guy finished for him, nodding knowingly.

Iruka scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yes, exactly. I feel…no, I know…that Kakashi-sensei has been through a great deal of pain. I can understand that too, and I want to help him." Iruka voice dropped to a whisper as he lowered his gaze to the ground. "No one should have to bear so much pain alone."

He heard a sob and looked up in surprise. Guy was standing there, rubbing his eyes to try and rid of them of free flowing tears. Iruka took a hesitant step forward and placed a hand on the Jounin's shoulder.

"Guy-sensei? Are you alright?"

Iruka's concern twisted into surprise and embarrassment as the Green Beast of Konoha flung his arms around his neck and began weeping openly onto Iruka's shoulder.

By now, the team of Genin had completely forgot about their training and were now staring at the two teachers. Well, Tenten was staring in open-mouthed confusion. Neji looked like he wanted to go beat his head repeatedly against the nearest rock, or something harder. Maybe Lee's head would do.

Rock Lee himself was simply managing to look and odd mix between curious and angry. "What did you do to Guy-sensei?" Lee demanded, raising his fists in a challenge.

"Nothing! I didn't…"

Might Guy righted himself then, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Do not fear, my cute students…"

'Like I said,' Iruka thought, not sure whether he was still joking about Guy's preferences or not. His latest display had shaken the teacher a little bit, not to mention soaked his uniform.

"Iruka-sensei has not hurt me! He has instead enlightened me in the ways of true human compassion! Even though he has suffered much in his few short years, he still finds room in his ever-youthful heart for those as wretched as my most esteemed rival and myself. Iruka-sensei is truly a great ninja!"

Tenten had managed to close her mouth, but didn't look quite ready to try and comprehend her teacher. Neji seemed to have decided a tree would do, and was currently banging his head against the trunk in a rhythmic pattern. Lee was taking notes.

Iruka blinked stupidly and blushed, looking down at the ground. This was really turning out to be much more than he'd bargained for when he'd left his house early two weeks ago. 'Next time, I obey common sense and sleep as long as possible.'

"I want you all to be like Iruka-sensei, and remember that a shinobi is only as strong as his love of those he protects!" Guy gave his team a thumbs up, and the light reflecting of his smile blinded a nearby squirrel so it crashed into a tree.

'Well,' Iruka thought, the color on his face darkening a couple of shades, 'that at least is a good lesson to learn from all this.'

"Yes, sensei," Lee said, snapping his small notebook shut with a salute. Tenten shot a sideways look at Neji before she nodded, and since the Hyuuga had not been as successful in his endeavor to knock himself unconscious as he'd hoped nodded as well.

"Does this mean," Iruka ventured carefully, aware that the young Genin were still watching them but not sure whether Guy had realized he needed to send them back to training or not, "that you'll tell me what I wanted to know?"

Neji, Tenten, and Lee quickly forgot everything but curiosity as they looked from their former teacher's hopeful expression to their current teacher's thoughtful one.

After a long pause, Guy sighed. "I would truly love to help you, Iruka-sensei, as your cause seems just enough. But, I cannot in good conscious betray the trust placed in me. You must win me in a fair fight as fate decides to get the information you desired."

"Fate and I had a talk yesterday," Iruka smiled wryly to himself, "and we have reached the agreement that it is only fair I win this time."

Guy smiled then, and his team unconsciously held their breath in anticipation as their sensei raised his fist.

"Shall we begin then?"

Iruka raised his hand as well, feeling more prepared this time then he had the day before. "Yes, let's."

"1, 2, 3, go!"

The three teens blinked, waiting for something to happen after 'go' but neither of the men moved. It took a moment for them to realize exactly what they'd been talking about as all three looked at their hands in unison.

Iruka's hand was extended, palm and fingers parallel to the ground. Guy's hand was fisted…except for the two extended fingers.

The Jounin grinned at his opponent. "Scissors beats paper, Iruka-sensei."

Neji looked like he was contemplating beating himself unconscious again, and from the look on his face Iruka's thoughts were following much the same line.

'Of course it would be when I challenge him that happens to be the one time he doesn't choose rock! How could I possibly not have anticipated that? Nothing in my life can ever be just that easy, can it?'

Guy took one long look at Iruka's disappointed face, and the fists clenched in frustration at the man's sides, before walking over and laying a hand gently on the chuunin's far too tense shoulders. "Your cause is truly a noble one, Iruka-sensei, and I do not doubt that you will find your answers…but apparently now is not the time. Have patience, my youthful friend, and they will come when you are ready for the responsibility that goes with them."

------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday, Kakashi had not put much thought into how that poor, unfortunate tree must have felt when his student had attacked it- unprovoked even- in a fit of rage. Now, he thought he and that tree should become drinking buddies, as they could very much understand each other's woes.

He should have known when he saw Iruka standing on the bridge with a dark contemplative look on his face that today would not be a good day for sparring. In fact he had realized it, analyzed it, and decided that it would be a good lesson in focusing on one's task and forgetting others until later. Unfortunately, that plan had one built in flaw. He'd been counting on Iruka's frustration to mess the other up and make fighting Kakashi more difficult. He hadn't realized that when Iruka was angry, his focus and reflexes became that much sharper.

He was really glad for his mask now, as he was sure his lip was going to be swollen for days.

'As fascinating as this development is,' Kakashi thought grimly, using his forearm to protect his face from a close encounter with Iruka's foot, 'I've got to get him to calm down. He's faster and stronger this way, but he's not even paying attention anymore. I've got to get him to calm down or we won't get anywhere.'

Hoping that Iruka would somehow find a way to forgive him for what he was about to do, Kakashi ducked below another kick Iruka sent his way. A quick roll had his behind the teacher, and he quickly pressed that advantage by elbowing the other in he head. Iruka stumbled, and Kakashi grabbed onto the other's wrists, forcing his arms behind him. Iruka yelped in pain, dropping down onto one knee.

"Let go of me!"

"Not until you calm down. You're fighting like you're Naruto! I expect better of a man about twice his age. Now get your emotions under control, Iruka-_sensei_."

That didn't sound nearly as compassionate as Kakashi had intended to. In fact, it was what he'd meant to say at all. His mental troops regrouped for another attempt at playing nice while Iruka took a few deep breaths- not an easy feat when the muscles used in holding his arms behind his head were compressing his rib cage.

"Better?" Kakashi asked, much more quietly this time. Iruka nodded and the Jounin immediately released him.

The chuunin felt humiliated as he dropped completely down onto his hands and knees. It wasn't Kakashi he was angry at; he was angry at life and it's way of thwarting him no matter what he tried. Kakashi was the one he was trying to help, and here he was taking it out on the other man like an immature child.

Kakashi sat down on the grass next to him, absentmindedly running his fingers along a cut the other had made on the side of his head.

"…I'm sorry…"

Iruka's quite whisper took Kakashi off guard, and only years of training kept him from jumping. Instead, he simply shrugged. "You weren't mad at me."

"No," Iruka said, sitting up too and slightly amused by the bluntness of this statement. "No, I'm not angry with you. And I shouldn't have been taking it out on you."

"Just don't try that in battle. Anger clouds your judgment, and can be your greatest weakness next to fear. Though, I must admit, you certainly loose a lot of your inhibitions when your angry and that makes you more interesting to fight."

Looking over at his teacher in surprise, Iruka noticed the blood trickling down the side of the Jounin's face. With a mild curse, the Academy teacher jumped up. "I'm so sorry, Kakashi-sensei!"

"For managing to hit me."

"For hurting you. I didn't mean to. That's the last thing I wanted."

Kakashi stared at the sincerity in Iruka's face with more than a little confusion. What on earth did that mean?

Suddenly the chuunin was kneeling beside him, inspecting the wound. Kakashi pulled away quickly.

"It's not bad."

"No, I suppose it isn't. I'm not really strong enough for that," Iruka smiled without any happiness in it.

"I didn't mean that."

"You don't have to." Iruka stood, reaching down to brush the leaves of his knees. He looked at Kakashi for a moment before he suddenly blurted, "come eat ramen with me."

Kakashi blinked a couple of times, still sitting on the ground. "What?"

Iruka looked very much like he wanted to find those words and stuff them back down his throat again, but since that wasn't possible he steeled himself and forced a smile. "I would like it if you came and dinner with me. At Ichiraku ramen. To make up for acting so childish today. That is, if you want to. I mean, you don't have to but…"

"I would like to," Kakashi said, holding Iruka's gaze instead of simply allowing the other man to look away so he would see that he meant it. Iruka, unlike some of the other brainless shinobi, was interesting company. Once he'd stopped being nervous about messing up in front of Kakashi, and consequently doing it, Iruka had actually been fun to be with. His fierce determination not to let Tsunade down and his somewhat biting sense of humor and mischief had Kakashi actually enjoying his company instead of grinning-and-bearing it…but he somehow doubted Iruka had been able to tell the difference.

"Oh," Iruka looked surprised, but slightly pleased, to hear the affirimtive answer. Yep, he'd definitely missed the memo. "Come on then."

He offered his hand down to Kakashi and helped the older man to his feet. They walked side-by-side back to the main part of the village, Iruka slightly pulling ahead as they neared his favorite haunt.

Much to the surprise of both Nin, Kurenai and Asuma were already there. They were in no way touching, and instead staring down at their newly arrived bowls of ramen. It couldn't have been any more painfully obvious that they were on a date-that-was-not-a-date, and the awkwardness in the air was nearly tangible.

Kakashi took it upon himself to attempt to dispel some of it, and approached their booth with a grin in Iruka's direction. "Yo!"

Kurenai and Asuma didn't exactly jump, but it was a very near thing, and Asuma bumped his knee against the table anyway. He cursed softly while Kurenai laughed.

"Konban wa, Kakashi-san. Iruka-sensei."

"Konban wa, Kurenai-sensei," Iruka said, using what little he had left of his self control not to laugh as Asuma rubbed his knee sulkily. Kurenai smiled and scooted over so there was more space on the bench.

"Won't you two join us?"

"Oh, we couldn't possibly impose…" Iruka began, but Kakashi shoved him down neatly into the seat next to Kurenai. "Well," he said, trying to salvage some of his dignity by glaring at Kakashi as he sat across from him next to Asuma, "if you insist."

Kakashi simply grinned at him, picking up the menu to look at it.

Asuma let out a low whistle. "What happened to your face, Kakashi?"

Kakashi set down his menu, and Iruka no noticed a bruise on his cheek that was barely visible above the mask as well as the jagged cut on the side of his face. He winced inwardly, glad that he'd decided to take Kakashi to dinner to make up for it. He really owed the other man for this one.

"Iruka did," Kakashi said brightly.

Or not.

Asuma's cigarette nearly fell out of his mouth. "Iruka-sensei did that to you?"

"Oh yes. Our training is coming along rather nicely. He'll make Jounin in a month easy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he hit ANBU only a month after that!"

Iruka couldn't help but blush at the praise, even if he knew Kakashi was only joking.

"You're lying," Asuma said, glancing from Iruka to Kakashi and back.

"I never lie."

That simple statement had the other three laughing almost instantly. Kakashi looked slightly put out.

"Well, I never lie about anything that's unbelievable anyway."

"Hey," Iruka protested. "My becoming a Jounin isn't unbelievable."

"That wasn't what I meant," Kakashi said, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm going to go order."

"I'll come with you," Asuma said. "I want to hear more about this, and the truth this time, Kakashi!"

Iruka sighed, shaking his head as the two male Jounin left. It took a couple seconds, but he realized he was being stared at. He turned his head to meet Kurenai's crimson gaze, and she didn't look away even after she'd been caught. It was almost creepy.

"What's wrong, Kurenai-sensei?"

"…There have been some interesting rumors going around about you, Iruka-sensei," she said, a small smile pushing it's way onto her face. "Something about you having a crush on Kakashi…"

Iruka groaned, his face reddening. 'Not that again!' "I've just been trying to solve the mystery of Kakashi-sensei, that's all."

"Why?"

"Why? Well…I…have my reasons." After Guy's reaction that morning, Iruka found himself a bit unwilling to share what had happened again.

Kurenai's mouth formed into an 'o' before she nodded. "So it's true then."

"What! No, I never said…"

"Iruka-sensei," Kurenai laughed, shaking her head, "I'm just teasing. Even if you do have a crush on him, it's none of my business. I just thought I'd give you the heads up that nearly everyone is saying it. You should be prepared in case Kakashi hears and decides to do something about it."

Iruka nodded, glancing over at where Kakashi and Asuma were leaning against the counter. He didn't _really_ have a crush on Kakashi but…he wasn't bad. In fact, he was rapidly finding himself getting attached to the nearly constant companionship.

'I'll miss it,' Iruka realized with a start. 'When this is all over and Kakashi moves on with his life. I really will miss it…and I wouldn't mind if something did start between us.' Iruka shook his head at the thought, not at all surprised by it. He'd known he wasn't interested in girls since his genin days…but he'd never thought he'd be contemplating Hatake Kakashi that way since he'd never really had a desire for men either. 'You're just being silly, Iruka. You're lonely, that's all, and it'll never happen.'


	10. Part 1: Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey, look, it's the last chapter of part 1! Be impressed I've gotten this far, because that means I may actually finish this. Which is good for all of us, ne? Oh, and by the way, I am not going to claim responsibility for outrage caused by plot twists. You've been sufficiently warned.

Iruka and Kakashi's sparing on water match was mostly done because it looked really cool in my head. I haven't actually seen the episode where Naruto is trying to walk on water, but I know he does it successfully and easily in the end when Jiraiya removes Orochimaru's seal. I figured that if Naruto could do it, Iruka and Kakashi probably could too.

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**Part I: Chapter 10_

'Why am I doing this?' Iruka groaned to himself for the tenth time since he'd left his house. He clenched his hand tighter around the small bag he was carrying. 'Bringing lunch is something Hinata-chan would do for Naruto! Not something you should do for a person training you.'

Iruka looked down at the two bento boxes he had packed and a thermos of eggplant miso soup for them to share. He didn't know why he was doing it. He hadn't thought about it as he was doing it. He'd simply done it; put both boxes in a bag, the thermos best them, and thought how ridiculous and presumptuous he was being only halfway to the bridge to meet Kakashi for Saturday afternoon training.

'If he's heard any of the rumors, he'll think they're true,' Iruka thought to himself and blushed.

He'd started showing up only five minutes before Kakashi would be there, deciding it wasn't worth a whole half-hour of his day to just sit there. He'd been half afraid that Kakashi would only show up later to still make him wait, but if Kakashi knew the difference in his waiting time he never said.

Thus, he hadn't been waiting for very long when Kakashi appeared, and he almost-but-not-quite hid the bag behind his legs. Kakashi glanced at the bag quickly, but smiled up at Iruka with no more than that.

"Good afternoon, Iruka-sensei."

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka managed not to blush as he said it, and was really quite proud of himself for this. 'I'm doomed.'

Kakashi's eye curved up slightly- Iruka had learned by now that the less dramatic the curve the more sincere Kakashi's smile- and he put his hands in his pockets. "I said we'd do some training in the water today, ne?"

Iruka nodded, scratching the back of his neck. He'd forgotten that. "Yes, yes you did."

"Shall we go then?" Kakashi didn't wait for an answer, instead turning and walking away. Iruka followed quickly, the bag held tight in his hand. A couple of times, Kakashi tried to get a glance inside it without any success. Iruka was simply holding it too tight.

At the water's edge, Kakashi quickly stripped off his vest and, as an after thought, his shirt. It was incredibly warm, even for early August, and he had no desire to run around in his long black shirt.

He turned and grinned at Iruka, who was staring in surprise but managing not to gape. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting Kakashi's chest to look like- not, of course, that he'd really given it much thought- and it wasn't the fact that Kakashi's chest was remarkable. In all actuality, it was the complete unremarkableness of it when everything else about Kakashi was so note worthy that took Iruka off guard.

He'd had some vague idea that Kakashi was probably scarred all over, and he certainly hadn't expected Kakashi to be as hairy as every other nearly thirty-year-old male. Neither of these ended up being really very valid. True, Kakashi had a couple long thin scars, but they were barely noticeable unless the sun happened to catch them just right. And yes, the patch of curly silver hair across his upper chest was an odd phenomenon to say the least, but it was still **_there_**.

Seeing that Kakashi was looking at him expectantly now, Iruka looked down and blushed furiously. He put down his bag and relieved himself of his vest. This was followed by several minutes of inactivity, during which it became apparent that Iruka was not about to take off his shirt, and Kakashi made the instantaneous decision that it had to go.

"Come on, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi grinned at the man. "You'll overhead if you keep that thing on."

"We'll be in the water," Iruka informed the ground reasonably. "I won't overhead in the water."

"Are you trying to say no to your instructor?"

Iruka's blush depend as he nodded. "My shirt stays on."

"Always have to question me, don't you?" Iruka didn't know it right then, but he'd just sealed his shirt's doom. Kakashi's grin suddenly had a diabolical hint to it. He appeared right beside Iruka, hands tucked innocently behind his back as he tried not to take too much pleasure in the fact that Iruka jumped. "Come now, Iruka-sensei. You don't have anything to hide. Unless there's something about you and gender issues I don't know, in which case…"

Iruka's scowl got darker, but he refused to look at the other man. "It's nothing like that! I just don't want to, that's all."

The Jounin ignored him, now placing his hands on Iruka's waist and tugging up to untuck the shirt. "If you have nothing to hide, then there's no reason not to."

"Kakashi! I said n-" Iruka's protest was cut short by his shirt being forcefully yanked up to his ears. He decided to finish his thought with a yell of indignant outrage, which Kakashi happily ignored as well. Another good yank from the infamous Copy-nin, and Iruka's shirt was at his feet along with the rest of his belongings.

The brunette clenched his fists at his sides, face burning with shame. He knew his body wasn't anywhere near as flawless as Kakashi's. All of his missions, and a few life incidents, had left one mark or other on his body. He was almost painfully aware of the thick bunched scar in the center of his back from where he'd taken Mizuki's shiruken for Naruto.

"There," Kakashi said softly, the playfulness gone as if he'd finally sensed Iruka's distress, "I don't see anything to be ashamed of."

Iruka shut his eyes tight as the other man walked around to see Iruka's face.

He could hear it as Kakashi grinned. "You know, I'd even say you're good looking."

Iruka's eyes snapped open on their own accord, but Kakashi turned around too fast for him to get a good look at the Jounin's face and decide how serious he was being. Instead, he found his shocked gaze getting no answers from a spot between Kakashi's shoulder blades.

"Now that we're both totally prepared," Kakashi said easily as he began to walk out on top of the water, "lets begin."

Still dumbstruck, Iruka followed him. As Kakashi had expected, Iruka had no trouble following him out without getting wet.

The chuunin was no sooner in position than his instructor launched his attack. He ran forward, aiming an elbow at Iruka's chest. Iruka waited, deliberately not dodging until the last possible moment. Water sprayed in the air as Kakashi worked to change directions, and his student used this time to attack. He aimed a kick at the back of Kakashi's head, but with another spray of water the Jounin turned and caught it.

Iruka's eyes widened as Kakashi twisted, throwing him. He skipped a couple of times, sending water flying in all directions, before coming to a stop with one hand and one knee just below the waters surface.

He only paused long enough to regather his chakara before launching an attack at Kakashi again. He attacked low, forming a few hand seals as he went. Kakashi watched with interest as two more Irukas appeared and all three began braiding their paths together to try and make him lose sight of the real one.

Kakashi prepared to block the one on the right, confident in his decision, when all three of them disappeared seconds from him. He blinked in confusion. "Where…"

The sound of something breaking the surface behind him caught the Copy-Nin's attention. He turned just in time to meet Iruka's fist head on.

Kakashi's foot and fingertips sunk below as he stumbled back. He couldn't help but grin at Iruka. The other man was standing there, water dripping from his now loose hair; his hair band seemed to have disappeared.

"That was very clever, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi conceded as he almost laughed. "Creating three clones and hiding behind one until you could dip below the surface and swim behind me. Next time we'll make a rule that the first to break the water's surface loses."

Iruka grinned, more relaxed now that the training was under way. "I look forward to it."

With that statement, the two launched simultaneous attacks, meeting and blocking in the middle. They were both knocked back slightly by the force of the attack, though Iruka a bit further than Kakashi who recovered faster. Kakashi attempted a roundhouse kick, which Iruka ducked, returning the attack with an attempt at an upper cut. Kakashi dodged back avoiding that hit and the punch that followed that one as well. He ducked below the kick Iruka aimed for his head by dropping down on his hands, the motion of his chakara shift causing slight ripples in the water, and tried to trip Iruka with a sweeping kick.

Iruka jumped over Kakashi's feet with a Chakara enhanced jump, pulling out a kunai as he came down. Kakashi shot away, the weapon ripping a small hole in his pants. The chuunin wasn't going to allow him a chance to regroup, following the Jounin's movements closely.

Kakashi dodged twice more some close range attacks before springing up onto his hands, swinging his feet up and catching Iruka on the chin. The academy sensei stumbled back in surprise, and Kakashi pressed his advantage. He launched a series of quick punches, which Iruka was forced to block instead of dodge completely. Kakashi then kicked up, catching Iruka in the chin again.

Iruka shot upward and flew several feet before coming back down. He landed in the water with a splash. Kakashi watched the ripples until Iruka's head broke the surface again with a short gasp for air.

"Well done, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said, grinning down at him. "You didn't let your concentration slip once!"

In response, Iruka slapped his hand across the water. With an aim developed over years of playing in the water, the clear liquid hit Kakashi directly in the face- specifically where his eye was exposed.

Kakashi blinked in mild surprise as Iruka started to laugh. He could not, of course, let that insult go unpunished. He knew that much, even though he'd never played water games as a kid. With a slight growl, Kakashi ran over and dunked Iruka under water. Iruka returned the gesture by grabbing onto Kakashi's lower arm and yanking him down with him.

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"If anyone asks," Kakashi panted, lying in the mud of the river bank and staring up at the sky as he grinned, "that was a training session."

Iruka, lying on his side nearby, chuckled. "Why would anyone doubt that, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi shook his head, the droplets of water catching the sunlight, as he chuckled softly. They were both quiet for a moment before Kakashi spoke again, a voice not much over a whisper. "I don't think I've played…in a very long time…"

Iruka rolled over, chin resting in his hands and elbows in the dirt. "You never play games, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Most of us don't, Iruka-sensei, once we graduate."

'He'd graduated from the academy before kids his own age had even entered it,' Iruka reminded himself. Had it been so long since Kakashi had fun?

The growling of his stomach forced Iruka to momentarily stop his musing as Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him.

"I suppose I should stop and let you eat…"

"You need to eat too," Iruka said, getting up onto his knees. "You can't weigh much more than I do. Food won't stop you from being a good ninja. Look at the Akimichi clan!"

Kakashi rolled over so he could sit up and face Iruka as well, blinking his eye in confusion. "I didn't bring…"

"I made you lunch," Iruka blurted, a blush starting on the tips of his ears and spreading across his scar. "You don't have to eat it you don't want to, I just thought…"

'So that's what's in the bag,' Kakashi thought, slightly confused by the sudden charity.

"I made some rice, and there's broiled saury and miso soup…I only had eggplant so…"

Kakashi couldn't help it. He grinned broadly, grabbing Iruka's wrist, and dragging him back toward the bag. "You have a rather amazing ability at perceiving my favorite foods, Iruka-sensei!"

"I…what?"

Kakashi didn't answer, instead plopping them both down. Iruka was blushing again, but it was faint, and he quickly handed Kakashi his box, poured him a cup of the soup, and handed him a pair of chopsticks before getting his own.

"Itadakimasu," Kakashi said brightly.

"Itadakimasu," Iruka echoed. He broke his chopsticks and opened his box. He took up a bite of food and it was halfway to his mouth before he looked up…to find Kakashi's plate cleaned and his mask firmly in place.

Kakashi almost laughed at the surprised look on Iruka's face as the rice fell out of his chopsticks.

"You…you finished already?"

"It was very good, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said honestly, grinning even though his tongue was burnt and he wished it wasn't.

"You'll choke eating that fast!" Iruka scolded, lowering his chopsticks as he glared at Kakashi. "Wouldn't that be a terrible death for a Jounin? The great Sharingun Kakashi felled by a too large piece of fish, I can just see it now."

Kakashi could only blink, realizing that Iruka was serious in spite of the joke. The man he was training to become a Jounin was actually lecturing him about the safety of his person from his meals. 'Does he really think I'm so unable to care for myself that he has to make me lunch AND inform me I need to actually chew my food?'

Fortunately for Iruka, Kakashi was interrupted from his rather scathing remark about how over-protective the chuunin could be by the arrival of Kotetsu. If he thought anything about the two of them sitting there, shirtless and dripping wet, he didn't say so.

Instead he bowed to them before speaking. "Forgive me for interrupting, but Hokage-sama requests a meeting with you, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi nodded, setting his empty box down beside Iruka. He replaced his shirt and vest before turning back to his student.

Iruka was watching him expectantly, lunch forgotten.

"Wait here."

Iruka nodded as Kakashi vanished. The Jounin appeared beside Kotetsu in Tsunade's office. He bowed before the Hokage, who nodded in return, as Kotetsu left.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your training of Iruka-sensei, Kakashi, but I have a mission that I think you'd be highly interested in."

Kakashi simply nodded, his mind still trying to get back up to speed and away from the river.

"It seems that, while traveling through Cloud Country, Jiraiya and Naruto were captured."

That had Kakashi's full attention. "Captured?"

Tsunade nodded gravely. "It was witnessed by a team of Chuunin I had sent on a messenger mission there, but because of the sheer number of enemy ninja they were forced to retreat. It seems the large group of Cloud missing Nin was forming a resistance, and they want to push Konoha into attacking Cloud."

Kakashi frowned, "so you want me to go in on a rescue mission."

"Exactly."

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but how am I supposed to take on all of them alone if three Chuunin could not?"

"Oh, you aren't going to be alone. You're taking Iruka with you. Consider it a bit of a field test."

Kakashi stared at her. "Iruka-sensei? Hokage-sama, Iruka is not ready for any such…"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. "Even after all this time, you still underestimate him. Iruka is not as weak as you suppose, Kakashi. You and I both know you're training has brought him up quickly. I'm not sending you alone, but I have no other Jounin to spare at the moment. Iruka is as close as we have, and I already know you two can work well as a team. Naruto and Jiraiya may be in terrible danger, so time is essential, and I will accept no arguments." She extended her arm out to him, a scroll held tightly with in it. "Debrief Iruka, and I expect you both gone within two hours."

Kakashi took the scroll, the visible part of his face clearly dark and unreadable, as he bowed. "Yes, Hokage-sama."


	11. Part 2: Chapter 1

**A/N:** Very first, I would like to apologize for the excessive amount of typos in the last chapter. I had given myself a deadline to have it posted before I went to work that day, and as a result my editing was very fast and exceptionally poor. I'm sorry.

This chapter isn't a filler, exactly. It's a getting from point A to point B chapter.

Now, we are all set to begin part II of our tale, and it marks a slight shift in direction. Iruka obviously cares a great deal for Kakashi by this point, and his caring will only increase. Up until now, you've been left to wonder for the most part how Kakashi has been feeling because my narration had (deliberately) focused almost exclusively on Iruka, with the transition being the end of Chapter 10. From now on we have Kakashi. I have to get him to deal with some of his own issues and admit he sort of likes Iruka. To himself, of course. If he said it out loud, I wouldn't need a part III.

Do note that, because of this shift, I might be slower with updates, and at first they may be shorter than before. Kakashi is infinitely harder for me to write than Iruka is.

**_All The Broken Pieces_**  
_Part II: Chapter 1_

Kakashi wasn't going as fast as he possibly could, but the speed was quite impressive. He had to grudgingly admit, as he jumped from one branch to the next, that Iruka's speed had improved greatly over the last month and a half. It might have been the amount of running Kakashi had forced the chuunin to do, but he doubted it. It probably had much more to do with the look of oddly intimidating ferocity on Iruka's normally kind face.

He knew that Iruka cared for and was protective of Naruto. He'd been on the receiving end of some of that when he'd nominated his team for the chuunin exam. What he hadn't realized was how deeply those feelings went.

Kakashi had returned to the field to find Iruka, fully dressed and hair pulled back once more, finishing the last bites of his lunch. He had informed the other, perhaps too casually now that Kakashi thought about it, of their mission and the danger Naruto was in.

The chopsticks Iruka had been holding never stood a chance. The sudden flame of his paternal instincts caused him to snap the poor defenseless utensils in half. He had teleported himself away nearly instantly, and was packed, ready, and waiting for Kakashi at the bridge in what must have been record time.

Now, as Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to check on his student- 'No,' he corrected himself, 'my teammate'- he could see that same determination almost radiating off Iruka like pseudo-Chakara.

Unbidden, Kakashi recalled a time he'd seen a look like that on his sensei's face, when a much younger Kakashi had placed himself in deliberate danger on a mission. He had tried, several times, to forget the worry and anger on the other man's face, as he'd come to Kakashi's rescue.

Iruka reminded him, in far too many ways, of Yondaime. The way in which he genuinely cared and believed good of everyone, even when common sense said it was useless. The way he threw himself whole-heartedly into making himself strong.

The comparisons made his Sharingun and insides ache in longing. He forced the memory back as he had long ago trained himself too. Dwelling on everyone that had chosen to leave him wasn't going to solve anything.

Deciding to force distraction upon himself, Kakashi slowed down slightly so he was running beside the chuunin instead of in front of him. "Eh, Iruka-sensei, don't look so nervous. I won't let anything happen to Naruto."

"It's not what you'll let happen that I'm worried about, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka said, glancing over at him as his determined look broke into one of anxious worry, "it's what may have already happened to him that I'm afraid of."

Kakashi had to admit that he had a valid point, but even if that were so there was nothing they could really do about it.

"Naruto is lucky." Kakashi caught himself off guard as he said it, and looked nearly as surprised as Iruka did.

"What do you mean?"

"To have someone that cares about him like you do," Kakashi answered, deciding that now he'd started he might as well continue, and ponder on what it was about Iruka that always made him say the things he hadn't meant to. Maybe it was a bloodline limit that Iruka possessed? Spill-Your-Secrets-no-Jutsu? Ibiki would love to get a hold of that if that were the case. He probably would force Iruka to reproduce just so there would be more of them running around for him to train.

It took a great deal of control for Kakashi not to laugh at the image he got of Iruka's face as Ibiki told the teacher he was going to be forced to procreate for the good of Konoha.

Iruka was still contemplating his last comment, and Kakashi could just see the wheels turning in Iruka's head as he worked out how he wanted to say what he was going to say. "No one should ever have to be so utterly alone as Naruto was. I should have helped him sooner than I did. Should have helped the others more."

"The difference between Naruto and those others," Kakashi observed darkly too himself, thinking of a certain dark-haired former student, "is that they had parents once. The question then is, does that make them more alone than Naruto ever could be because they understood what they lost where Naruto never had it to begin with?"

He could feel Iruka staring at him as they ran. In an odd way, it felt like those hazelnut-coffee brown eyes were seeing directly into his soul. 'I wonder what he thinks of what he sees there…'

"Ah, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi forced his voice to lighten, picking up his pace again, "since we're still in Fire Country, I have an exercise you can do as we travel."

"An exercise?"

"Of course! We still have a deadline to meet, you know."

"Aah," Iruka affirmed quietly, allowing himself a small smile. "What did you have in mind, Kakashi-_sensei_?"

Kakashi chose to ignore the stress added to the title. He wasn't sure what Iruka was implying with that anyway. "I want you to count all the squirrels you see."

"Squirrels?"

"You know, fuzzy tailed little creatures that live in the trees we are currently running through…"

"I know what squirrels are, Kakashi-sensei."

"Then why the confusion?"

"Why should I count them? And how am I going to see any as we run?"

"You're counting them as a practice in awareness of your surroundings. Trust me, once you try you'll see many. I'll count too, and we'll see who is better. Oh, and Iruka-sensei? If you see something that is not a squirrel that I should know about, do feel free to share. We'll count it as bonus points."

The chuunin laughed, and Kakashi smiled to himself. He always felt like he'd accomplished something when he got the high-strung man to laugh.

"Alright, Kakashi-sensei. We'll count these squirrels."

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It was dark when they stopped to camp for the night. Kakashi didn't know how good Iruka's night vision was, and personally he didn't feel like pushing it any more. Depleting their chakara further would be risky, as it was still several days' travel to Cloud country. They had made good time that day, better than he had expected, and he thought they deserved some rest for that.

Iruka landed softly beside him, blinking owlishly in the darkness. The waning three-quarter moon that was shifting through the swaying foliage caused weird shadows all around them, and Kakashi was sure the chuunin felt a bit disoriented.

"Dinner time," Kakashi told the other man brightly, sitting down under a tree in the spot that looked the least uncomfortable.

Iruka sat down wearily just across from him, his eyes still darting around to make sense of their surroundings. Kakashi was just pulling out a ration bar from his pack when Iruka spoke. "Twenty-two."

"What?" Kakashi asked, pausing in his silent unwrapping of his less than appetizing dinner. He could see the Chuunin smiling through the dark.

"I counted twenty-two squirrels, although one may have been a branch that resembled a squirrel. I didn't get a very good look at it."

Kakashi stared at him. He'd only counted nineteen. That meant there had been three squirrels he missed somewhere…and that his student had beaten him.

How he was supposed to feel about that, Kakashi didn't know. What he did know was that he felt somewhat angry at falling behind.

"How many did you see, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Itadakimasu," Kakashi answered instead, quickly munching down his dry bar of dehydrated nutrients.

Where Naruto, and Yondaime probably too, wouldn't have gotten the hint, Iruka seemed to decide it was best not to push the matter. Whatever conclusion he came to as why Kakashi wasn't answering him was none of Kakashi's business. He told himself, anyway.

Kakashi listened as Iruka took a bite out of his own bar, but continued looking up at the stars he could barely see through the thick leaves as he spoke. "If we continue at this pace, we'll be in Cloud the day after tomorrow. That's thee easy part though. Finding the hide out of these missing Nin is going to be much more difficult."

"How do you plan to go about it, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi frowned slightly. "I was thinking of going to the clearing where they said they saw Naruto and Jiraiya being captured. Maybe Pakkun could figure out something from there. He should recognize Naruto's scent if nothing else."

He sensed rather than saw Iruka nodding. "Pakkun is one of your little nin-dogs, ne?"

"They aren't all little, you know."

"They're still your nin-dogs," Iruka explained as though he thought Kakashi had missed the point of his statement. "Do they keep you from getting homesick on missions?"

Kakashi stared at the other man. Homesick? Who did this Chuunin think he was kidding? Ninja didn't get homesick! Aside from that, he had a house in Konoha and loyalty to his village. He didn't have a home there.

"You should go to sleep, Iruka-sensei. I'll take the first watch, and wake you at midnight for your turn until dawn."

"Evasive-maneuver-no-jutsu strike two," he heard Iruka mutter to himself as the chuunin dug out his sleeping bag.

"You better get used to it," Kakashi smiled to himself. "It tends to strike a lot."


	12. Part 2: Chapter 2

**A/N:** And this is where we get to the part of the story that I'm truly interested in. We're entering the dark angst realm of writing where I feel I excel. Those of the faint heart should turn back now, as these two boys are going to be put through hell in the next few chapters. You have been warned.

And, yes, I'm aware this is a short chapter, but it's almost strictly action and you're getting a double update later today to make up for it. I'm forgiven, right?

**_All the Broken Pieces_**  
_Part II: Chapter 2_

Kakashi felt rather than heard Iruka land beside him. They were well in to Cloud territory now, and had been traveling in silence since they crossed the border just after dawn. Closing his eyes, Kakashi recalled the directions given him in Tsunade's mission scroll. This was the clearing they were looking for, and he nodded to Iruka to indicate it before stepping out quietly.

Kakashi stretched his chakara out slightly, but didn't sense any ninja near by. Whether that was a good or bad thing, he wasn't sure. He crept out further, and began searching the area for clues.

Iruka followed behind him, his brown eyes scanning the trees. Without being told, he was acting as look out while Kakashi searched the ground. Good.

The marks were several days old by now, but it didn't seem this field was often used. He could still see footprints stamped in the dried mud, making out the smallest set and deciding those had to be Naruto's. He lifted his hitate, allowing the sharingun to memorize the movements and his mind to visualize the battle. Naruto and Jiraiya had put up a good fight, if these marks were any indication, but something felt off.

"I don't like this," Iruka whispered. Kakashi didn't look up at him, but his body tensed as a nonverbal cue for the other man to continue. He got the hint. "There should be some sign of life. Birds chirping at least. But there isn't. Something must have frightened them away, and recently."

"You're sure it wasn't us?"

"We would have heard them fleeing. We cannot possibly be alone out here."

Kakashi nodded once, putting his senses on high alert. He didn't hear or smell anything out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean much. A ninja at a high enough level would be able to hide themselves at least that well. It would take an ANBU level ninja to hide their chakara as well as he was trying to sense, though, and if they were dealing with a squad of ANBU they were in worse trouble than Kakashi thought.

He continued to study the footprints and frowned. Something was off, he was sure of it now. This style of movement, the way the weight was carried…it wasn't like Naruto at all. There were no marks of shadow clones, just the lone set of footprints, and Kakashi doubted Naruto would fight such a serious battle without the use of his favorite technique. On top of that, the footprints were too deep for Naruto's weight.

"It's a trap," Kakashi realized, even as several kunai shot out of the tree line. He and Iruka leaped away, landing back to back just out of the range.

"Those chuunin didn't see what they thought they did," Kakashi explained to Iruka, his voice harsh from the sudden shot of adrenaline. The simple plan was beginning to unwind before his eyes. "They must have heard about Tsunade's messengers, and they wanted to lure some Konoha ninja to be their captives. The used a simple henge to look like Naruto and Jiraiya, but those chuunin couldn't have gotten close enough to tell. They escaped, but the enemies knew we wouldn't abandon them. They've been waiting for the rescue team to show up."

"Us," Iruka finished, pulling a handful of shuriken from his pouch.

"Exactly." Further explanation was then made pointless as the enemy ninja had decided to reveal themselves. They also dropped their chakara coverage- Kakashi was willing to bet it was a high level top-secret Cloud technique. His senses were going crazy trying to process the sheer volume of chakara as more Nin melted from the trees. They were completely surrounded, at least three times over, by masked Cloud shinobi.

'Things must be pretty desperate up here if this many think a they need a war,' Kakashi thought grimly. Wars were the best way to solve economic crisis after all. He didn't really think there were this many Ninja missing from Cloud. If he had to guess, it was a group of ninja who thought they were doing what was best for the city- but against orders. Thus the reason for all of them to be masked and protect their identities.

He felt Iruka tense behind him, and knew the other man didn't think much of their chances. The sheer number of them gave their enemy a distinct advantage, and if Iruka thought they were in trouble he was probably right.

One of the nin- this one did have an ANBU styled mask- stepped forward. "So…Kakashi of the Sharingun. We didn't expect the Hokage to send you. Those two must be more important to your village than we had supposed."

"We figured out your little charade," Kakashi said, forcing his voice and body language to be completely calm. "The game is over."

"No, I'm afraid it isn't," the man said, and Kakashi could just see the sneer behind his mask. "For you, it has only just begun."

"Kakashi-sensei," Iruka whispered- then stopped. Unlike Kakashi, he wasn't managing to sound or look at all calm. Damnit, the last thing he needed was for Iruka to have a self-doubt attack now!

"Kakashi-sensei, we need to get out of here. I know you're good, but there are just too many of them. We should run away, and warn Tsunade-sama about this."

The common sense side of Kakashi's brain said Iruka was right. That even he wasn't good enough to face these odds and survive. It would be better to leave and return with reinforcements. There was also, however, an annoying voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Obito.

'How dare he,' it said loudly, drowning out the survival side of Kakashi's mind. 'How dare HE, a mere chuunin that you are helping, once again imply that you, not he, are too weak for this! Again! You are Kakashi of the Sharingun, THE Copy-nin. You are supposed to be one of Konoha's best and most feared ninja. If you run, they'll think Konoha is weak because you are the best they could send. They already think you're vulnerable if they're willing to pick a war with you, and running would only verify that. If that happens, they will attack and you know right now the village can't take it. You can't back down!'

"We're staying," Kakashi said, drawing up his hands to perform seals even as he said so.

He heard Iruka take in a sharp breath, but the argument Kakashi was waiting for did not come. Instead, the younger man released that breath and launched himself at the nearest ninja.

Kakashi followed his lead, doing his best to stay close to Iruka. There was no hesitation from the chuunin as he knocked one ninja unconscious, followed by a serious wounding of another.

'But,' Kakashi thought to himself as he stabbed a kunai through the chest of a ninja by him, 'he's not killing any of them.'

It obviously had not been expected that they were going to fight back, and for a few precious seconds they had had the element of surprise. Now, the group had managed to reassemble itself and they were attacking them back.

Kakashi had to duck some kind of fire jutsu, and at the same time grab a man nearby to use as a shield against of volley of weapons.

'We need to get out from the middle of them,' Kakashi thought grimly as he listened to the dull thump of the weapons lodging themselves in his human pincushion. 'If we could attack from above, or work our way from the outside, we might have a chance.'

Unfortunately, when he dropped the dead-man-turned-porcupine he couldn't find Iruka anywhere to tell the chuunin this. His vision was filled with more ninja than he could ever hope to count- he hoped one or more of them had created clones and there weren't really that many enemies- and he couldn't see Iruka in their midst.

'They did that on purpose,' Kakashi scowled to himself. 'Damnit, why didn't I keep a better eye on him?'

He punched the nearest ninja in the nose, and quickly formed hand seals for a substitution technique with one of his enemies, and then another rapid one with a log from a nearby tree. From his new vantage point, he only had a few minutes before he'd be attack, Kakashi located Iruka. He had created a few clones himself, though they appeared to be functioning more as distractions than actually helping. It seemed they were allowing him more time to think of a plan, but it didn't look like it had succeeded.

With a chakara enhanced jump, Kakashi landed in the middle of his enemies, and began trying to make his way toward the other man. He blocked and dodged most things sent his way, though a passing kunai was close enough to cut the visible skin on his face. He only threw blows when he had no other choice, knowing they would only slow him down and if he wanted to get back with his teammate he needed to hurry before Iruka was forced to move and he lost him again.

Kakashi was forced to stop and engage in combat with a ninja that jumped on his back. The move lacked subtlety in Kakashi's opinion, but he couldn't deny that it was effective. Knocked to the ground by the sudden added weight, Kakashi had to roll almost instantly to throw the other man off him. He dodged the punch thrown his way, and returned it with a sky to ground kick that hit the man in the neck.

He was grateful for this small delay, however, when there was a series of explosions from the area where Iruka had been. Exploding tags, he should have known. Iruka highly favored their use, and kept a bunch ready his pocket that he could simply infuse with chakara when he was ready to use them.

The Jounin dodged several falling men and small rocks as he made his way into the circular clearing caused by the blast.

Already the small space was filling with ninja on the attack, aiming to take down one or the other of them. Kakashi barely had a chance to see Iruka take a kunai in his shoulder before he was forced to focus on a ninja that kicked him in the stomach.

It was simple chaos, being attacked on all sides by ninja in masks. He could hardly keep track of them all. He wondered vaguely if this is what a sugar cube feels like when ants attack it.

He was pushed back into a tree by three other ninja, blocking their simultaneous attacks with his now bleeding arms and legs. He began to pull together his chakara, forming the seals for the chidori. The blue light had just begun encircling him when he felt something hit the nerve cluster in the back of his neck. He saw stars for a moment, barely registering Iruka's cry of pain, before he completely blacked out.


	13. Part 2: Chapter 3

**A/N:** Egad, the last chapter was torture to write. Almost no dialogue, and chaotic action. I HATE that chapter, but it had to be done. This one is more fun, and yes you get glimpses into Iruka's head here. Just like there was a 70-30 ratio in favor of Iruka in Part I, Part II will be about that in favor of Kakashi.

Also, my comma key seems to have broken. Don't be too mad at me for any missing commas, though I've tried to copy and paste them were necessary. Thanks!

**_All The Broken Pieces_**

_Part II: Chapter 3_

Kakashi felt the world around him slowly reasserting itself into existence. His head was pounding and his body ached, but he reminded himself it was a good thing. Pain meant he was alive.

He stretched and tested his other senses first, before opening his eyes or changing his breathing pattern. He wanted to feign unconsciousness as long as possible if necessary. The place he was lying on was cold and rough, feeling a lot like plain cement. It smelt dank and moldy, and he could hear dripping water far away as well as muffled footsteps. It was nearly dark, wherever he was, but not completely, his closed eyelids told him, and he wasn't alone as he could hear someone else's ragged breathing.

He focused more on himself, taking stock of his injuries. Nothing was broken; although his arms felt bruised and there was dried blood on his leg- he could feel the pulling on his skin as he slightly flexed it. With a small start, he realized the whole side of his face could feel the cool roughness of the surface he was laying on. His mask and forehead protector were gone.

Careful to open only his own eye, Kakashi allowed himself time to adjust to the light in the room. There was very little of it, only a bit of yellow coming from the crack at the bottom of a heavy metal door. A shadow crossed in front of it, explaining the muffled footsteps. A guard.

The Jounin sat up, not to quickly so he wouldn't injure himself further, and turned his head to the other source of noise in the room. He could make out the hunched shape of another man in the shadows.

The man looked up, his brown eyes and scar catching the light slightly as he pulled out of the shadow. The relief on Iruka's face was so obvious, Kakashi almost felt guilty for being the cause of so much worry for Iruka.

"You're okay," the chuunin sighed, moving over to sit closer to Kakashi. He watched the ginger way he moved, observing how he put as little weight as possible on his left side, and how he half-dragged himself over. His chakara was obviously badly depleted, although Kakashi realized he wasn't much better. Using the sharingun tended to have that affect.

"I'm fine," Kakashi reassured him, running his hand along the side of his face to brush some silver strands away. Belatedly, he thought about covering his face, but realized that Iruka had probably had hours where he'd seen it already so it didn't really matter. Iruka was at least being kind enough not to stare.

"You're been unconscious several hours now. I was starting to think they'd done more damage to you than I thought."

"I'm fine," Kakashi said again, now looking down at his leg. The wound wasn't as bad as all the dried blood made it look, he decided. "We lost then?"

Iruka snorted, now leaning heavily against the wall closest to Kakashi as the Jounin shifted to lie there as well.

"Why is it," Kakashi mused to himself with a small smile, "that the only time you don't question my orders was probably the one time you should have?"

Iruka shrugged slightly, his eyes closed from exhaustion. "Poor judgment on my part?"

"Hm," Kakashi said, taking a moment to assess Iruka's injuries further. From the way he was slightly cradling his left wrist Kakashi deduced it was broken. Like Kakashi, Iruka was missing his vest, and there was blood that had dried from his shoulder. His left leg also appeared badly burned, probably from one of his exploding tags.

All in all, Iruka didn't look like he was up for much of a fight, and drained of chakara as he was, Kakashi didn't feel up to fighting either. This didn't bode well.

"So," he said, watching as the other man opened his eyes to watch him as he spoke, "what do we know?"

"That we've been caught by a bunch of bastards intent on starting a war, and we are now pawns in that plan."

"Harsh," Kakashi said, though admitting to himself it was also true. Iruka just looked at him, a thousand emotions Kakashi couldn't even name flicking through his dark eyes like a moving picture. The other man's hair was hanging loose around his face, brushing up into his eyes. Kakashi found himself reaching up and brushing a few strands behind Iruka's ear as the other man let out a small gasp of surprise.

"We're going to get out of here," Kakashi reassured him. "I don't know how yet, but we will. It's my fault we're in this mess."

"Kakashi-sensei…"

Whatever Iruka was about to protest, or perhaps reaffirm because he couldn't possibly deny it was Kakashi's decision they stay, was lost as the door to their cell was flung open. The ANBU masked man stepped in flanked by two others.

Kakashi was hit the Chakara suppressing tag before he even quite realized what was happening. Without his vest, the blow was crushing and left him winded.

Beside him, Iruka glared and tried to struggle his feet, "what did you do to him?"

Kakashi would have been happy to answer that question himself if he could have, and saved Iruka the trouble if he could have. At the moment, all he could do was pant shakily and wince as Iruka was shoved roughly into the wall with a sharp crack, and then slide limply to the floor.

As he was hauled to his feet, Kakashi opened his eye briefly to assure himself that Iruka's neck had not snapped and he was indeed still living. To his relief, both of these were in fact true, and he closed the eye again as steel cuffs were slapped onto his wrists and ankles.

"Come with us, Kakashi-san," the ANBU masked man said, sounding elated. "We have a few questions for you."

'Torture,' Kakashi concluded as he was dragged out into the brightly lit hallway, 'aw hell.'

He found himself first forced through said windowless hallway, all bright artificial light, and then shoved into a dark room. He opened both eyes wide on reflex, forgetting he had nothing to keep the Sharingun closed. He found that as soon as he'd done this someone grabbed his head and forced his left eye to remain open.

Kakashi struggled, but two more guards appeared and restrained his arms and legs, with his arms hung above his head and legs made immobile by heavy chains. The hands on his face had not moved, and he found his head held still in the direction of a shadow. Said shadow began forming hand seals, and his Sharingun began to spin wildly to memorize them. His head began to pound as chakara was drained into his eye.

"Tell me Konoha has a plan to invade Cloud," said the ANBU-man from somewhere to his left.

Kakashi would have blinked, if he could. 'Does he really think it'll be that easy?'

Pain shot through Kakashi's back as something, probably a kunai, was dragged down his back from the base of his neck to the curve of his back. It wasn't a deep cut, mostly shredding his shirt, but it stung and he could feel a little bit of blood trickling down his back.

"Konoha has a plan to invade Cloud," the man repeated again.

Nothing from Kakashi, and a matching cut was dragged down the other side of his back. The man in the corner was still making hand seals- Kakashi realized now they were completely random but he could not force the Sharingun to stop.

"Konoha is plotting against Cloud," it said.

This continued until Kakashi's head felt like he'd been used as Tsunade's target practice from chakara exhaustion, and the cuts on his back were considerably deeper and overlapping each other. His shirt was shredded, and blood was prickling him as it ran in small rivers past the waistband of his pants and down his legs. His eye was still going, though it had started crying. Stupid Obito. Now it hurt because it was dry, the tears evaporating when they had nowhere to go. His limbs were trembling with fatigue and pain, but Kakashi was proud of himself. He had stuck to his training and not uttered a sound. He smiled a little to himself as the man of the seals stopped.

"ANBU-sama," he said. His voice sounded young. "If we keep this up much longer, he'll die of chakara depletion."

'Killing me unprovoked might get you your war,' Kakashi thought idly as his face was released. 'But you want to be the victims in this. You can't start it, for whatever reason.'

The ANBU made no sound, but he must have motioned something as the second bonds on his arms and legs were released. Kakashi crashed to the ground with a small grunt, to drained to remain up on his own. His arms tingled and pricked as blood returned to them, making him feel like crawling in his skin. Someone grabbed the restraints still tied too tight around his wrists and pulled him out into the bright hallway. Kakashi shut both eyes tight, the pain in his head becoming severe enough that he nearly blacked out. He heard the door open and he was tossed inside.

The door shut with the simultaneous soft yelp of "Kakashi-sensei!"

Gentle hands removing the bands, allowing the blood to continue it's natural course through his numb hands and feet. The same hands removing shreds of his shirt with minimal movement. Kakashi forced his eye open to see Iruka hovering near him, looking with slight worry at the marks on Kakashi's back.

"This place is dirty," Iruka muttered, tracing his fingertips gently above the cuts. It was a surprisingly intimate gesture, and though it didn't hurt Kakashi shifted in discomfort. The touches stopped. "Infection could set in easily."

"They want to be told Konoha is planning to invade Cloud."

Iruka looked from his back to his slightly turned head in surprise. "But we're not!"

"I know. But if they get that information, true or not, they'll have reason to invade us."

Iruka was silent for a long moment, pulling his knees up and half wrapping his right arm around them. "And they'll do anything to get it?"

Kakashi found he didn't need anything to read the anxiety and worry on the other Shinobi's face. It was a nice touch of humanity in this world that was suddenly made of masks- where he was without his for the first time in his memory.

"Don't worry," Kakashi whispered, trying to smile. It ended up more a grimace, but he had tried. "You're strong enough to stand it."

Iruka gave him a small sad smile, in which Kakashi thought he could read an unspoken 'it's not me I'm worried about'. Instead, the chuunin simply said, "I'm not Sharingun Kakashi."

'And take that as you will,' Kakashi finished wryly, forcing himself to relax. "We won't be able to escape tonight."

He expected some sort of remark for that, at least a snort. What he got was silence. He opened his eye to see Iruka wasn't looking at him anymore. He seemed to be starting at the opposite wall in resignation.

Kakashi frowned. "We'll get out of here. I'll find a way."

Iruka turned to smile at him, closing his eyes so Kakashi couldn't read them. "I know you will."

The Jounin's frown deepened as he realized he couldn't decide if Iruka meant he would find a way or if he- Kakashi alone- would get out. The Copy-nin closed his eye, deciding he was just being paranoid. Iruka didn't seem to be planning on dieing on him. He was more the stubborn 'I'm staying by your side no matter what' type. He hoped.

With his own slightly morbid thoughts to keep him company, Kakashi soon drifted off into sleep his body demanded. It wasn't like there was a point of keeping guard while in prison anyway.

Iruka watched as the too pale man's breath became even with sleep, and lightly brushed his fingers through the dirty silver hair. Cuts criss-crossed Kakashi's back, staining his skin red. It reminded Iruka of a dove he'd once seen mauled by a cat.

Iruka spared himself a quick look. He was dirty and sweaty, but he would live. He didn't have nearly as many wounds as Kakashi, and anyway he'd need Kakashi too get out of this mess. He couldn't stand to leave Kakashi behind, and the nin was currently too weak to fight his way out, while Iruka was fairly confident he could manage if it came down to it.

"You need this more than I do," Iruka whispered softly before stretching out his left hand just above Kakashi's back as best he could. He took a deep breath, recalling the lessons in medical jutsu all teachers were required to have. He pulled his chakara to his damaged hand and past it, into Kakashi's back to force his body to begin healing. He was already drained from the long battle, having fought for a short while after Kakashi fell trying to reach the other man. He had failed and been caught when one of the masked ninja snapped his wrist and knocked him out.

'If I had been stronger, we wouldn't be here,' Iruka scowled to himself. Even now, he still wasn't strong enough and the best he could do was aid Kakashi in the only way he knew how.

He wasn't satisfied with the partially healed wounds, but he'd given up as much chakara as he could afford too. Exhausted right down to his very insides, Iruka dragged himself against the wall opposite Kakashi so he could keep an eye on him, and he too was soon fast asleep.


	14. Part 2: Chapter 4

**A/N:** This chapter makes up most of Iruka's time for Part II. I need one good chapter of Iruka torture, and then you get almost strictly Kakashi's point of view until midway through Chapter 10. Iruka will break in a little about Chapter 7, but nothing between now and then. It'll be almost all Kakashi after this. Plot just dictates this chapter as Iruka since Kakashi can only know so much and the effect of this is important.

It was so hard to write. I'm not kidding. I seriously think Kakashi is going to come murder me in my sleep for doing this. It was painful to write, and I was in tears, but it had to be done. So, disclaimer, this chapter is some very graphic and humiliating torture for Iruka-kun. If you can't handle it, I suggest you not read it.

Finally, I got this torture by looking up real methods of torture. This has been done to people, and so much worse, and recently. It makes me physically ill to think about someone else really doing this to another human being. This is not intended to make light of or make fun of the horrible things these people went through. I want this to be horrible, so that people realize it is and it doesn't happen again. This is the reason for the rating jump.

**_All The Broken Pieces_**  
_Part 2: Chapter 4_

Iruka was lying on his stomach, alone in the cell, studying his left wrist. He couldn't move his hand independently from his arm at all. He knew that couldn't possibly be a good thing. He should probably rebrake it and try and set it, but that not only sounded painful; it was impossible. He didn't have anything to set it with, and it wasn't like the guards were about to hand over a first aid kit.

Which was why he was laying on his stomach. A few hours after Kakashi got back from his first torture session- if he had to guess he would have said it was the next morning but he couldn't be sure- it had been Iruka's turn. They had tried the same torture on him, cutting his back when he refused to speak.

Unlike Kakashi, however, his wounds weren't healed each night. Kakashi's were never healed well, as he couldn't build up much chakara during one day, but whatever he had he surrendered willingly each night to keep Kakashi's wounds from getting infected. Though his own were now quite deep, Iruka felt confident he would be all right. He had a pretty good immune system.

He didn't know where Kakashi was right now, but there weren't many options. They had learned from between their torture sessions- they had had seven each now, though Iruka guessed eight was coming up- that they were being held in the only cell in the place. The other rooms in the bright hallway appeared to be something like dormitory rooms, and there was the room in which they were tortured. It did explain why they hadn't been split up, if nothing else.

'We need to get of here soon,' Iruka thought as he tested the movement of his wounded right shoulder. It was starting to look a little inflamed and was very sore. He wouldn't be surprised if it froze up soon, rendering both his arms useless. 'They're torture has gotten worse since ANBU man was pulled away. This new guy seems more determined. If we don't get out of here soon, things could get much worse.'

Iruka glanced up as the door was opened. He thought it was Kakashi being dragged back, but no such luck. The man came in, and Iruka didn't resist as he tied his hands. After the first time, he'd learned it was even more painful if he struggled as his broken wrist and the still fragile bones were made immobile. Kakashi had advised him that struggling the worst thing to do, and just go along with it for now.

He followed this advice, if only because he trusted Kakashi would do everything he could to keep him safe.

Iruka found himself dragged into a different room from the normal one. It looked like one of the dormitories he'd caught glimpses of when being dragged past, but the furniture had been slightly rearranged. Namely, one of the beds had been tilted up vertically and there were ropes tied to the head and footboards.

Iruka felt his whole body tense with the realization that this was anything but good. In spite of himself, Iruka pulled against the hands holding him. It did nothing to affect the man behind the mask, although it caused his shoulder and wrist a great deal of pain.

Two more men came in the room. Iruka recognized one of them as ANBU man's replacement. He found his hands bound above his head to the headboard. Even standing on tiptoes he was too short to touch the ground, and the mattress just in front of his vision was starting to swim from the pain on his injured shoulder.

"Remove his clothing," came the all too familiar voice of his tormentor. Iruka's eyes widened. His shirt had been destroyed long ago. All he had left were his pants and underwear.

He attempted to kick, trying to avoid the hands, but this caused his shoulder to move and he nearly threw up. Soon he was shivering and naked, his back toward the masked enemy ninja.

He was already trembling with terror. Being this exposed was never ever a good thing, and as the man bound his legs and tied a gag in his mouth, Iruka almost whimpered. Maybe Kakashi had been drained to face this sort of thing without fear, but he wasn't! The most he was trained for was a class of sugar-influenced school children near Christmas playing with sharp objects! Being tied to a bed, feeling eyes crawling over his skin, was a new and terrifying experience. Naked was bad.

He felt a hand on his injured shoulder, and shivered involuntarily as the mask brushed his ear.

"We looked for you in the bingo book," the man informed him. "You don't seem to be there, little one. You must be a new one. Fresh meat sent as bait so the great Hatake Kakashi could save the day."

'I'm not bait,' Iruka couldn't help but think. 'I'm a lot of things, but certainly not that.'

"Well, little one, let me be the first to introduce you into the world of a Jounin."

The presence directly behind him left for a moment, only to be replaced by fingers dragging a long his shoulder wound. Fire followed the trail, burning his skin and seeping in to the wound as some kind of oil was placed there. Iruka cried out against the gag. He jerked away from the touch automatically, and he could feel the partially healed skin beginning to tear a new. This just let the oily substance, whatever it was, seep into the open wound and burn more.

Tears came to Iruka's eyes, but a part of him realized it wasn't from pain alone. There was a strong smell of pepper in the air. They were coating him with pepper oil.

"Are you ready to talk now, little one?" The voice asked happily. "Just let me know, and I'll undo the gag. All you have to do to make it stop is tell me Konoha wants to invade us."

Iruka closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm. He would not tell them what they wanted. Death before dishonor, hadn't his father always said that?

"Not ready then?" The purring voice asked from nearby. "Well, we must try harder then."

A streak down his back, from between his shoulder blades to the curve of it. Thousands of small thin cuts protested the abuse, the fire burning his skin. Iruka cried out against the gag, jerking and twisting. He closed his eyes tight, forcing his mouth closed and nearly choking on his gag. He had to remain in control. He forced his muscles to still, choking down the tears and bile.

"Oh ho! So there is spirit in you yet."

'Damn right there is,' Iruka thought, with as much spite as he could manage.

Cold steel on his back and the sting of several cuts being reopened. The chuunin's eyes barely had time to widen as the oil was poured across his shoulders. He screamed against the gag as it entered the fresh wounds, and spilt down his chest. He gasped and choked as it crossed his sensitive nipples, dripping down his stomach and stopping. Pain, everywhere. A thousand kunai piercing his skin. On the receiving end of every jutsu. Rolling through hot coals couldn't have been much worse.

The muscles on his torso began to protest the abuse, twitching and jerking on their own to try and get away. The cords cut in to his flesh, the rope fibers rubbing it raw.

'Make it stop!' His mind screamed at him. 'Just a few little words, and it all goes away. They don't even matter, really…No! No, they do matter! Someone who wants it bad enough won't care where it came from…but Kami-sama it hurts! Please, make it go away.'

An arm snaked around his waist, the oily fingers barely brushing his taunt stomach. He knew they were coated with the stuff, and heard his undignified whimpers as if from far away.

"Perhaps," said the man behind him, "we need to take it up another step, ne? You seem to be enjoying it so…"

The fingers wrapped around his exposed genitals, touching him in a way that would have been sexual had he not started screaming in agony. The sensitive skin flew with the sensation of fire, spreading the ache throughout his body. It burned, seeping in to his very pores. He tried to escape, pulling away from the clutching hand. Dimly, his was aware of his fragile wrist snapping, but it was just one sensation of pain among many.

'I can't do this. Just kill me please! I'm going to die from this. I'm not strong enough…I can't…'

Kakashi's face floated in front of his tightly closed eyelids, the nonexistent copy-nin's eye turned up in a smile. "When you have something to protect," he almost heard him say. "Your strength doesn't matter."

Something to protect. Konoha. His students. Everything he loved. A war would destroy them now. He could not, would not, be the start of that.

He kept that picture of Kakashi firmly in his mind. Kakashi's face as Iruka got him to play in the water. Kakashi's laughter when Iruka had fallen him. Kakashi that was everything good and strong about Konoha, because he represented its best things with all his might. Kakashi who lived on, in spite of the pain of losing everyone he loved. Kakashi who was the only one who had not abandoned him in this hell.

Iruka clung to that image as the man's hand moved down, curving under him, between his legs, up the other side, and then down the inside of his thighs. Held on to the memories of Kakashi when he had been training his students. Held on to Kakashi as he was now, the handsome face he kept hidden from everyone, and his determination that they would survive.

Iruka would survive, because Kakashi believed in him. "You're strong enough to stand it," he had said, and Sarutobi had told him Kakashi's judgment was always right. Iruka would survive this fire, because Kakashi had said he would and if Kakashi said it then it was so. He believed that, as his body lost all control of itself he cried against his gag as the men behind him laughed at the mess. He had to.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kakashi looked up as they dragged Iruka in. The chuunin was a mess, all of his wounds reopen and the corners of his mouth and his wrists rubbed raw. He smelt strongly of a revolting mix of pepper and urine. His pants seemed coated with blood as well, and a part of Kakashi was suddenly afraid of what they may have done. Worst of all, he didn't move as they dropped him to the floor.

Kakashi himself was exhausted. He'd been badly beaten, still tied and eye forced open. The keeping of his eye open had saved his face, but the rest of him ached. He was sure he had at least cracked a rib. All his own pain was quickly forgotten as he crawled over to his teammate's side.

He reached his hand out, quickly trying to locate a pulse. It was there, and hammering wildly. Whatever they'd done had caused the other man a great deal of pain.

"Iruka?" Kakashi whispered, brushing back a few stray locks from the younger ninja's sweat and tear stained face. "Iruka, you're safe now. I'm here, it's okay."

One of Iruka's eyes cracked open. "I know," he whispered, in a voice that sounded hoarse and raw. Kakashi winced just listening to him speak. "I didn't…tell them…anything…because you said…I wouldn't. You're always right…"

A part of Kakashi was surprised Iruka had felt the need to tell him that he hadn't told them anything. One thing he never doubted was Iruka's loyalty to Konoha. He could tell just from watching the other man that he deeply loved the city in which he lived, and the people inside it. He would protect it until he drew his last breath, without question.

The other part of Kakashi wanted to hit him. If he was always right, then they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place! It was this sudden misplaced trust of Iruka's that had helped it. Why did the other man trust him so much now when everything seemed out of his control?

Obito's eye probably would have started crying if it had any tears left. Kakashi wasn't so sure he wouldn't have let it.

He wished he had some chakara to heal Iruka with as brushed back the other man's hair. His whole body looked inflamed from whatever they'd coated him with. He didn't even have water to wash it off. The best he could do was brush back the greasy brown locks that had escaped his ponytail. "Go to sleep, Iruka. They won't hurt you again tonight. I promise. I'll take care of you."

The chuunin sighed gently, closing his eyes and relaxing as best he could, never doubting Kakashi's words.


	15. Part 2: Chapter 5

**A/N:** I want to send special congratulations to **_Lady Ohina_** and **_Yami no Kaiba_** for seeing underneath my underneath. You've both pretty much nailed the idea I have going, which focuses on Kakashi having to watch Iruka suffer and knowing it was his fault being a type of torture deliberately gauged by the torture expert.

I'm glad I got the responses I did to the last chapter. I would have seriously worried about you guys if I didn't.

My main problem with this chapter? My outline fell apart on me. I had revised it so much the papers quite literally fell into unreadable pieces. And…I can't remember what I wanted to happen in parts 5 and 6! Like, I remember the basic parts but the details are sadly lacking. If this feels a bit more rambling than the other chapters, that's why.

**_All The Broken Pieces_**  
_Part II: Chapter 5_

Kakashi was returned to their cell with every muscle trembling from exhaustion and pain. There had been times before when Kakashi had wished Obito had just kept his stupid eye. He didn't exactly need help depleting chakara, thanks; he was plenty good at it on his own. Now he was seriously wishing he could bring his friend back to life and personally return the Sharingun by force-feeding it to him. And he hoped he choked too, damn it!

He didn't know how long they'd been there. Without any windows, it was impossible to tell time. He would have guessed it had been nearly two weeks by now. Had Tsunade figured it out yet, or was she still impatiently waiting for their response? Would she send a rescue team, or did she count on Kakashi being able to get out of this on his own?

From somewhere within the cell, Kakashi heard a muffled moan. He forced his eye open and began anxiously scanning the walls for Iruka. Since his return from the serious torture- Kakashi had later discovered the chuunin had been coated with chili pepper oil- the other man had not been well. He was unable to sleep because of the pain, and Kakashi had been watching anxiously as his appetite slowly disappeared. They weren't given much to begin with, and the fact that Iruka would hardly touch what they were given was somewhat distressing.

He found the chuunin curled up in the far corner. Iruka was curled in on himself, and Kakashi could pick up the faint smell of vomit and something nauseatingly sweet clinging to the other man's skin. He forced his body to move closer, and could now see the Iruka's face was flushed and he was shivering.

"Iruka?" Kakashi kept his voice low, hoping not to startle the other man. A slight change in the brunette's breathing was the only sign Kakashi had he'd heard him. "Iruka, are you alright?"

Slowly, brown eyes opened to look up at Kakashi's face. They were dark and dilated with pain, and when Iruka spoke they contracted slightly as his dry throat was forced to work. "It's cold."

Kakashi frowned. Though their cell was slightly below room temperature, even without a shirt he had never actually been cold. He reached out and pressed a no-longer-gloved hand against the side of Iruka's dirty face. Iruka subconsciously turned into the cooler touch, allowing Kakashi to feel the dryness and heat of the other man's skin.

"You're burning up," he whispered, slightly startled. His stomach twisted as he realized he knew that sickly sweet smell. Infection. "Damn it," he whispered, and then a bit louder for good measure. "Damn it."

Of course there was a high risk for infection here! Iruka had told him that the first night. They were dirty, exhausted, and the puncture wound on Iruka's shoulder from the kunai was just asking for it. And he hadn't thought of it. Not once had it even occurred to him to check. 'You've got to be the stupidest genius ever, Hatake.'

"I'm sorry," Iruka croaked up at him, trying to get his eyes to focus directly on Kakashi. "I'm sorry."

Kakashi couldn't help but jerk at the sincere of the apology. He looked down at the fever bright brown eyes next to his hand, slightly confused. 'What, does he blame himself?'

"I didn't mean to get sick. I thought…I would be okay…"

'So did I,' Kakashi thought bitterly. The fact that the fire in Iruka's eyes hadn't yet gone out had made him believe Iruka was fine. Hurting, but nothing this bad. In retrospect, there were warning signs long ways back if he'd given them more credit then he had the last few days. "It's not your fault. I'm the team leader. I should have seen this coming."

'My list of should haves,' Kakashi thought as he finally pulled his hand away from the chuunin's face, 'is getting considerably longer every day where you're concerned, Iruka.'

"Even if you did realize, what could you have done?"

It was a fair question, Kakashi had to admit. It wasn't like they were given more than a little dirty drinking water everyday, and he somehow doubted that would help to clean the wound much. So, excluding not getting them captured in the first place there was little, if anything, he could have done to help.

Somehow, that didn't make him feel any better.

"Well, it's not like you…" Kakashi trailed off as something dawned on him. Iruka was NOT being put through the same chakara draining torture he was. He eyed the younger man wearily. "Why didn't you heal yourself?"

Iruka's eyes had drifted closed, but now they snapped open again. He blinked rather blurrily at Kakashi. "Because I didn't have the chakara to do me too."

"What do you mean you too?" Kakashi asked quietly, even as yet another thing he had vaguely registered found it's way to the forefront of his mind. His had noticed that his wounds were always the most severe just after his torture, and they were considerably better after he woke up from the nap he was forced to take afterwards. He'd thought it was just time and lack of adrenaline making them seem less severe.

Apparently, he'd rather stupidly missed something else. His reputation as a great ninja was beginning to collapse before his very eyes. He would blame the exhaustion. "You've been healing me."

Iruka nodded, even though it wasn't a question.

"Why?"

"Because," here Iruka smiled, just a little bit, "because giving my strength to my more capable teammates is my own way of the ninja."

Kakashi would have laughed, but somehow he just couldn't find it in him to do so. Iruka said he was the more capable. That meant he didn't think Kakashi was weak. He respected him and trusted him to get them through this.

"You need to stop trusting me. Seriously. I seem to be on a stupidity streak," the Jounin muttered, moving himself so he was sitting by Iruka's head. From this new angle, he could see the inflammation that had taken hold of the chuunin's shoulder wound, and swore softly again.

Iruka himself chuckled slightly, a dry crackling sound. "I can't help but trust you. I don't know why. I just do, that's all."

"Well, stop it. I'm not a very trustworthy person. "

"Sandaime said otherwise. He spoke very highly of you."

Kakashi could find nothing to say for a long time. He wasn't about to dishonor the Third Hokage by saying the man had been wrong, no matter what he felt at the moment. Finally, he sighed slightly. "We need to get out of here soon, before you get any worse. I can't do anything for you here."

Iruka didn't seem to be listening as he frowned up at Kakashi. "Why do you wear the mask?"

Kakashi blinked a couple of times, his train of thought completely derailed. "Huh?"

"Naruto kept trying to tell me he though you were hiding horrible teeth underneath it, but your teeth are actually quite nice. It's all nice. Why do you hide it? Are you afraid it would make people trust you?"

'That's a complicated question,' Kakashi thought bitterly to himself. 'The answer is both yes and no.'

Normally, he would have ignored the question and told the person to mind their own business. But looking down at Iruka's fever flushed face, at the grime and blood that caked the other man's tan skin, he felt he owed him at least that much. "I wear it because I look just like my father."

"Oh." The reply was so soft and sad that Kakashi had to wonder if Iruka knew about his father's story, and what had happened. It didn't take the Jounin long to decide he didn't know how to feel about it if Iruka did know.

There was another silence that stretched between them, and Kakashi found himself trying to think of ways out. He didn't have enough chakara for any kind of jutsu to even get out the door, never mind fight off all the men who would try and stop them.

"That's why I gave myself this scar."

Kakashi jumped openly as Iruka's soft voice intruded into his thoughts. He turned and stared, but Iruka wasn't even looking at him anymore. Kakashi doubted the chuunin even realized he was speaking out loud.

"It was so incredibly stupid of me, but I was only about five-years-old. He was late home from a mission. Very late. My mother was upset, and she would cry whenever she looked at me. I…I was angry with him, and so stupid. I didn't want to look like him anymore if it hurt her. I thought I'd give myself a scar to make us different. I didn't expect dragging a kunai across my face would hurt so much. There was so much blood, and it certainly did nothing to stop my mother's tears." He tilted his head back to smile at Kakashi slightly. "I think your way is much saner and more effective than mine was."

Life, the Copy-nin decided, really enjoyed reflecting his own experiences back on him through a fun house mirror. Twisting and distorting them, mocking his pain with that of those around him. He knew Iruka wasn't trying to make fun of his own pain. He knew that the other man sympathized with him, on some level, and probably wouldn't have said anything had it not been for the fever induced haze he was in.

It still kind of hurt. At least he'd been smarter at five then to drag a kunai across his face, though.

"Not a particularly bright child, were you?"

Iruka's smile softened. "I hadn't been taught to handle weapons. My parents didn't want me to be a ninja. I didn't enter the academy until after…"

Kakashi's curiosity was peaked now. He was used to people prying into his own past, which he'd carefully kept hidden from all but a handful of people. Why was he'd never heard so much as a rumor about Iruka when his past seemed just a veiled as his own.

He knew he was taking advantage of the situation horribly. He knew that if someone tried that on him he'd be furious with them afterwards, and for some reason his stomach twisted at the though of having Iruka mad at him, but being the genius he was he couldn't help it. Iruka was a puzzle, and one he desperately wanted to solve. "What happened to your parents, Iruka?"

Iruka licked his dry lips, though it seemed to do little to calm him. "The Kyuubi attack. They were both elite Jounin, and on the front lines…"

Kakashi winced a little. That was a whole bunch of dark memories he certainly didn't want right then. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. They were great ninja, and I am proud of their sacrifice."

Kakashi frowned a little bit. Something here didn't add up. Naruto. He knew first hand how much Iruka loved the boy- it was part of why they were both here- but he was the reason he was orphaned. At least, that's how most people would see it. It had taken him a long time to forgive young Naruto- or more specifically it had taken him a long time to separate Naruto and the fox into two separate entities in his head- for taking away his sensei.

"Yet, you still love Naruto like you do?"

Iruka was silent for a long time before wearily closing his eyes. "When I was genin, I tried to kill him as a baby. Twice."

Kakashi was staring at him again. This most certainly was **_not_** solving the puzzle.

Iruka sighed, unconsciously snuggling a little closer to the Jounin's leg. "Both times I…I couldn't do it. He blinked his big eyes up at me and I…I just knew I didn't want to be like them…"

Iruka's voice was getting quieter, his body more relaxed.

"Them?"

"…the rest of my team…they all got revenge…and it nearly destroyed them…"

Kakashi put a cool hand on Iruka's head as the chuunin started using his head as a pillow. "You're genin team, Iruka-sensei? Who were they?"

Too late. The other man had already fallen asleep.


	16. Part 2: Chapter 6

**A/N:** I want my outline! I hate not having every detail planned out to reference while I'm doing this. Gah! Come back too me my beloved outline.

This is my first story to ever pass 200 reviews. I'm in shock. Thank you all so much for you support! I feel so special.

I love that you're all so curious about Iruka's past! Don't worry, all you need will be explained before the end.

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**Part II: Chapter 6_

It had been a very long time since Kakashi had felt this helpless. Not since Asuma and Guy had forcefully held him back and he'd had to watch his sensei sacrifice himself for the village. This whole experience wasn't the worst one of this life, but it was quickly making its way up the list. And with a life like Kakashi's, that was a pretty impressive thing.

The day after Iruka had gotten sick; Kakashi had found himself horribly beaten. He was bruised and exhausted even now, two days later, which he guessed, was the point. He could sense less chakara around him, and hadn't seen any sign of either the ANBU in charge or his sadistic right hand man. So, it would appear he had guessed right when he thought these weren't missing Nin. They still had duties to perform for their village, and apparently a bunch of them had been pulled away for real missions and such.

Now would have been the perfect time to escape, if he could have moved. That was why they had worn him down so far, to keep him dead on his feet until enough of them returned. Kakashi could only hope that they severely underestimated his healing abilities, or that help arrived soon. It didn't really matter which.

He and Iruka had taken up residency in the back corner of the cell, Iruka's head on Kakashi's lap. Kakashi didn't imagine this was very comfortable- he'd never had much fat on him and in the last little while he'd gotten downright bony- but it was better than the concrete floor. Besides, being able to reassure himself that the other man was still there was a great plus. They'd left him alone so far since he'd gotten sick, but Kakashi didn't delude himself into thinking that was a permanent arrangement. The minute the psychopath was back, he was sure Iruka would be in danger.

He didn't need a thermometer to tell that Iruka's fever had increased to borderline dangerous. The other man was having fits where he would tremble violently, and he could barely hold down the food and water Kakashi convinced him to swallow. His shoulder was oozing all over, making a mess on the floor and Kakashi's pants but he was so filthy by now he didn't really care.

They had talked, mostly about Naruto's version of a mission and Kakashi's telling Iruka what really happened, but it had helped the other man relax. Kakashi had decided he would bide his time until Iruka probably wouldn't remember it before digging further in to his past, but they were swiftly running out of small things to talk about.

"So, it really was Naruto's fault that he couldn't stop the dog?"

"I wouldn't say it was his fault exactly…but he really should have chosen a smaller dog, even if watching him get dragged along was pretty funny."

"Wouldn't that have meant Sasuke would have gotten that big monster?"

"Yep, and that would have been even funnier."

Iruka looked up at him from Kakashi's lap. His eyes were unfocused and glazed. They sort of reminded him of pools of warm maple syrup spread on a plate. Iruka smiled, but it was sad.

"Do you think if he'd laughed more, Sasuke would have stayed?"

'Ouch,' Kakashi winced. That was a subject he didn't want to talk about. Ever. "I don't know. I don't know if I could have done anything more to try and help him. He'd made up his mind that he had to get revenge on Itachi."

"Revenge is a wasteful thing," Iruka murmured. "In the end, you hurt just as much as before and nothing has changed but that you have blood on your hands."

Okay, until Iruka couldn't remember it or the perfect opportunity came up.

"Like when you tried to get revenge by killing Naruto?"

Iruka looked dazed for a moment, as if he didn't remember telling Kakashi that, but nodded. "He was just a baby, and sensei said that if I gave in to my hate for him I would be strong enough to finally rid the village of the Kyuubi. But…he was just a baby. And he looked up at me and just…smiled. Then he laughed and stretched his chubby little hands out toward my kunai. He didn't understand the danger, and suddenly I couldn't bring myself to do it. Somehow I knew, even then, that demon or not I would still have been shedding innocent blood, something my parents always told me not to do if I didn't have to. It didn't feel right, no matter what Sensei said…that particular conflict- between what my parents said and what my sensei was saying- seemed to happen a lot."

A part of Kakashi wanted to ask him flat out a second time, but the rest of him told him to wait. That a better opportunity would come, where Iruka had even less chance of resisting telling him. His past actions all told him that Iruka was desperately trying to hide that fact of his life for some reason, and that it would probably be the hardest mental wall to break through.

"You told me your teammates both got the revenge they wanted, and it nearly destroyed them."

"Uh-huh," a slightly wary answer, which Kakashi found funny, coming from a man who'd had his head on his lap for nearly forty-eight hours.

"Were they your genin team? Others your sensei convinced?"

Iruka hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I don't think either of them would have done it, otherwise. I wish they hadn't. Neither of them was ever the same after that."

"What happened?"

The chuunin paused, seeming to consider if it was safe to give Kakashi this information. He must have decided it was because he closed his eyes and took a deep trembling breath. "One of them…she killed her father. Which was actually a good thing, in some ways, the guy was an asshole. A civilian in charge of his ninja daughter because her mother had died on a mission. He did terrible things to her…destroyed her in many ways before she was even on my team. I guess her fate was nearly inevitable."

Iruka smiled wryly while Kakashi tried to think of anyone he'd heard of that had killed their own father. He couldn't think of anyone, but if the guy had been a civilian maybe no one had really cared.

"The other wanted a ninja from Rock that had killed his parents- we were all orphans you see, I think Sandaime did that on purpose. He got him, eventually, but…he wasn't happy. The guy had been older by then, nearly ready to retire. He'd pretty much given up and allowed himself to be killed. Like he was sorry. That was hard for Ha…for him to deal with."

Iruka shivered, closing his eyes against a wave of pain. Kakashi lifted a hand to slowly stroke his hair.

'Okay, so I know his genin team was like most- with two boys and a girl, that they were all three orphans, their sensei was a misguided sadist, and one of the boy's names started with 'Ha'. That really isn't much to go on,' Kakashi frowned. In all honesty, it probably described half the teams in the village!

"But you never got your revenge?"

Iruka smiled a little bit. "No. Sandaime told me it was a good thing. That the goodness inside me hadn't been completely destroyed."

"From what I've seen," Kakashi smiled a little bit, resting his hand on Iruka's forehead, "there's very little in you left but goodness."

He could see Iruka's exhausted smile. "That's not all true. I've got a wicked temper left over. Sandaime said it was a small price to pay. He helped me, all the time. Helped me when no one else would. I miss him terribly. He cared. No one else did until they'd forgotten who I used to be."

Kakashi sighed, moving his fingers up to run through the greasy nearly black locks of hair again. "Sandaime was truly a great man, but if he had to go I'm almost glad it was that way. It was an honor for him, even if it was hard. I hear you were among his favorites and most trusted."

Iruka smiled wryly, "not at first."

Kakashi looked down, about to ask him about it, when Iruka began to shudder violently. He groaned a bit, a stray hand clawing at his shoulder.

Kakashi grabbed the hand, holding it tight by the wrist. "Take it easy, Iru-kun," he whispered, trying his best to sound soothing.

Iruka's eyes snapped open, looking clearer than they had in days in spite of the pain and fever that was causing him to shake so badly. "Don't call me that."

Kakashi blinked, still not letting go of the hand. Maybe he'd over stepped his bounds, but certainly not enough for such anger given the situation. There had to be more to this. "Why not?"

Iruka's wrist went slack in his grip as the tremor passed for the moment. Iruka's eyelids feel to half mast as he murmured, "my sensei used to call me that."

'Bingo,' Kakashi thought to himself, excited to see if his question would be answered even as he felt sleazy for taking advantage of the situation like this. "Iruka…who was your sensei?"

The brunette's eyes opened a little more as if regarding the Jounin. His two brown eyes peered up into Kakashi's own single open one, as if adding something up. Kakashi was reminded of how much trust Iruka had shown him over the last few days, and suddenly felt sick with himself.

"Never mind. You don't have to answer that."

Another long pause, and then, "Orochimaru. My sensei was Orochimaru."

Kakashi's whole body stiffened involuntarily, and he gaped down that the chuunin in his lap. He knew that Anko had to have had other teammates, that only made sense, but…he would never have guessed one of them to be Iruka. The man was so gentle and open hearted. Surely he couldn't possibly have turned out so well under Orochimaru's care!

Yet, that was not something to be joked about, and Iruka certainly never would. There was no reason to lie like that, as you couldn't pick anyone worse that Orochimaru.

Kakashi closed his eyes, trying to make sense of the sudden input. A couple of things Iruka had said made sense now, particularly the comment about killing. Leave it to that twisted bastard to try and convince his students to want to kill.

Something outside drew Kakashi's attention, or rather the lack of something. No footsteps. Their guard must have gone somewhere else. If they were going to escape, and they had to now if only so Kakashi could question Iruka further, now would be the best time.

"Kakashi…"

"You can tell me later," the Copy-nin murmured, forcing his body to move. Adrenaline was already pumping, making the job easier as he rolled Iruka a little off himself so he could crouch.

"What are you doing?" The younger man whispered hoarsely.

"We're getting out of here."

"What? Kakashi, you can't! You were completely drained of Chakara the other day, there's no way you can…"

"We've got to try. This might be our only chance."

Iruka nodded, allowing himself to be picked up and doing his best not to drag Kakashi down. Good.

"Do you think you could hang on with one arm and your legs around my waist?"

"I…I can try." Iruka managed, pulling himself up with one hand. It was shaking again, violently, but Kakashi managed to hang on. This would be so much easier if he didn't have to carry Iruka with him, but leaving him behind was not an option.

Once Iruka had both legs wrapped tightly around his waist and a hand on his shoulder that was bone-crushingly tight, Kakashi staggered toward the door. He fell to his knees beside it, but used the moment to analyze the lock. He grabbed one of the chopsticks and quickly broke the rusted piece, thanking Yondaime and his instance on drilling escape techniques into his team's heads until it hurt.

He stumbled to his feet again, pulling the door inward. They were both momentarily blinded by the light- Kakashi felt Iruka's small hiss of pain against his neck- but the coast looked clear enough. The Jounin himself was already shaking as bad, if not worse, than the man on his back, but this was going to be their only shot. He wanted to make it the best one he could. He staggered out into the hall, and turned in the direction opposite the one he was normally dragged. Surely, the exit had to be that way.

He only made it to the end of the hallway and around one corner before he fell to his knees, nearly dropping Iruka in the process. The crack of his knees hitting the tiled floor echoed, and nearly instantly they were surrounded. It appeared that what had drawn his guard away had been the return of the psychopath. Damn it!

"Trying to escape now, are we, Kakashi?"

Kakashi grinned at him darkly. "Of course. I don't just lie down and take beatings."

"No, you wouldn't would you? Too much fire in you. But actions have consequences, Kakashi of the Sharingun. There are ways to break your spirit."

Kakashi began bracing himself, mentally raging that they couldn't get any father. At least outside would have been nice!

"Take him," the masked man sneered, and pointed. Kakashi blinked, realizing the finger wasn't aimed at him…but at Iruka. He felt the other cower into his back, clinging to him with all the strength he could manage.

"No!" Kakashi yelled without thinking, clutching Iruka tighter against him as the masked enemy tried to get closer to them. "I'm the one escaping! I'm the one who's spirit you need to break! Leave Iruka alone."

"I am breaking your spirit, Kakashi," the man chuckled.

For a moment, Kakashi wondered how this man knew Iruka had become a part of him. Another moment during which Kakashi wondered where the previous moment's thought had come from. He braced himself, staggering to his feet again.

"You aren't taking him. I'm not going to let you!"

A couple of appreciative chuckles. They obviously didn't think him much a threat. With his legs threatening to collapse beneath him, Kakashi didn't really blame them. He smiled at them a little bit. "A ninja is never stronger than when he has something precious to protect. Didn't you know that?"

He felt Iruka suck in a breath, but ignored it as the first man chose to attack. Kakashi spun, out of the way of the lunge. He stumbled, but managed to land a kick against the side of the guy's head. It didn't really do anything more than make the other guy grunt in sharp pain but it was something at least.

After him, they seemed to get smarter. Two came at him at once, and Kakashi was forced to stumble backwards to avoid them. His trembling limbs led him right into the arms of a third. He felt Iruka's limbs tighten around him, felt the yelp of terror. He jerked away from the still clutching hands.

Now they were all coming at him, and even as he ducked he fell to his knees. Something landed on the back of his neck and he crashed to the floor. His grip on Iruka slipped, and he felt the chuunin roll away from the impact. He tried to force himself to stand again, telling himself he had to protect Iruka because he'd failed so badly so far. It simply wasn't enough to get his muscles to cooperate.

"You put up a good fight, Kakashi," the torture specialist said, kneeling in front of him. He could see Iruka, struggling weakly, being carried away by one of the men there. "But in the end, you just aren't good enough to protect your precious person. Take him back to his cell, and make sure he can't leave this time."

Kakashi groaned, dead weight as two guards grabbed his arms and legs. He'd failed.


	17. Part 2: Chapter 7

**A/N: **Hee, I get the strange feeling that like I've accomplished something when I keep getting indignant demands that I release them. Keep wading through, guys, the end is worth it. Nothing is better than tried and true love, right?

This chapter won't make sense if you haven't read Kakashi's Garden, FYI.

This chapter, and the title too really, were inspired by the Ernest Hemmingway quote "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger at the broken places." Keep that in mind as you read this, okay?

**_All The Broken Pieces_**  
_Part II: Chapter 7_

'I failed,' Kakashi though miserably, head on the knees he had pulled up to his chest and both eyes closed. 'I've never failed to protect anyone so miserably in my life. Tsunade entrusted him to me, and because of me he's as good as dead.'

The cell door creaked open, and Kakashi raised his head just enough to peek over his knees at them. Iruka was dragged in, his body rigid as he trembled violently. He was coated in sweat and blood, which contrasted terribly with his far too pale skin. They dropped him, and one of the guards kicked the teacher's side.

Kakashi was on his feet and lunging for the man before he'd given the action any thought. All he managed was to hit the door as it slammed in his face.

He wanted to scream out his frustration, and throw a tantrum like a child. All of this was completely unfair. Why couldn't he get out, no matter how hard he tried? He was Sharingun Kakashi. He was supposed to be able to pull off miraculous escapes, damn it!

He punched the door once, hard enough to bruise his hand, but it didn't make him feel better. Kakashi dropped his hand, slouching in defeat. It didn't matter.

Iruka coughing caught the Copy Ninja's attention. The brown haired man's thin frame shook as he struggled to get some air into his lungs. Kakashi walked over quickly, kneeling by the other man and rolling him on to his side.

"Come on, Iruka," Kakashi whispered, pulling the now loose hair away from his face, "breathe."

Iruka's skin shook under Kakashi's fingertips, but as he managed to cough up- Kakashi wasn't sure what it was- that had been blocking his airway he managed a few trembling breathes.

"Kashi?" Iruka whispered weakly, trying to roll back over and look up at the Jounin. Kakashi stopped him gently, wiping sweat away from the chuunin's eyes.

"I'm right here," Kakashi was surprised how shaky his own voice sounded, and how soft it was.

It hurt to see Iruka like this. When he thought of Iruka he remembered the teacher, as he had been when he'd stood up to him at the chuunin exam nominations, or the look of lively mischief that he'd had on his face when he'd grabbed Kakashi and yanked him in to the water. Not this dirty and wretched creature in his arms. He'd come to associate Iruka with life, with fire, and with strength. Now he seemed so fragile.

Kakashi sighed, clearing more of the grime from Iruka's face. He wanted so badly to take away the other man's pain and restore to him the life that Kakashi himself envied, but the only way to end that suffering would be betrayal, and no matter how much he cared for Iruka- how much he did he still didn't know- he could not do that.

Iruka shivered violently and a high-pitched whine escaped his throat. "So…cold."

The Copy-nin rubbed Iruka's upper arm with one hand, wishing the heat he felt in the skin under his palm would just leave. "I'm sorry, Iruka. I wish I had a blanket for you."

"Wanna'…wan' sleep…"

Kakashi felt his stomach clench. "You can't. If you do, you won't wake up."

"I'll stay 'wake, if you say so."

Kakashi lay down next to him, pulling Iruka close to him so they were lying back to chest with only a small space between them. "I do say so. I need you to stay awake for me."

"I will…for you…I…" Iruka trailed off as he began shaking again.

Kakashi's eye traced the labyrinth of thin lines on the back in front of him, some of them leaking red droplets where the scabs had opened again. His hand rested on Iruka's elbow, so tight he knew his fingers were going to leave marks. "Why? Why do you do all this for me? You barely even know me."

"I do know you. You're me, if things had gone different."

That didn't make any sense, but Kakashi found himself agreeing anyway.

"You aren't bad," Iruka whispered. "You try to make us think you are, but you aren't."

Kakashi sighed slightly, resting his head against the back of Iruka's. A part of him realized it would have felt nice in another situation. It had been a long time since he'd held someone close like this. "I shouldn't be trusted. I try to tell people this without saying it, that's all."

Iruka didn't say anything, and Kakashi had to focus on the sensation of his hands to reassure himself the other was breathing.

"The only one who doesn't trust you is you," Iruka whispered hoarsely after a moment, "which puts the rest of us in danger."

Kakashi opened his eye and watched the shadows of their guard block the light for a moment as he paced past.

They lapsed in to silence, both of them concentrating on Iruka's breathing. The fevered skin so close to his own was making Kakashi uncomfortable, but he couldn't shake the feeling of how right it felt to be holding the other man like this. Had holding someone always felt this good?

He couldn't remember. He'd been vicariously fulfilling his sexual fantasies through Icha Icha for so long- all the perks, none of the emotional attachment- that he couldn't even remember the last time he'd had someone to hold close, and Iruka's slightly small frame tucked so nicely into his…

'Okay, can't go there,' Kakashi told himself, forcing himself to let Iruka go. 'Get a grip Hatake. You're **_comrade_** is sick and dying. Sexual confusion can come after you get out of here.'

Iruka whimpered at the loss of contact, shiver in the cold he felt but that wasn't really there. The Jounin looked in to those pleading eyes, and he found himself pulling the chuunin's head into his lap again. His fingers were once again tangled in the greasy locks, and even though it felt disgusting it somehow relaxed him.

Iruka sighed in content, and Kakashi frowned down at the half-lidded eyes. "He's going to fall asleep at this rate. I can't let that happen.' "Iruka, tell me a story."

Unfocused brown eyes stared up at him. "A story, 'Kashi-kun? About what?"

Kakashi decided to chalk the familiar suffix up to the fever and let it go for now. "It doesn't matter. Anything. How you came to work at the Academy."

Iruka's eyes narrowed in the best look of suspicion someone so ill could manage. "Why do you want to know that?"

'Wrong subject,' Kakashi thought with a mental sigh. He'd been aiming for something neutral that Iruka could discuss with him and apparently missed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Wouldn't mind telling you…but…spies…"

"Why would spies care how you got to work at the Academy?" Kakashi half asked, half marveled. And here he'd been thinking HE was the master of underneath the underneath.

Iruka looked frightened, his breathing starting to come in shallow gasps. "If he ever found out…sensei would be so angry…"

'So it has something to do with Orochimaru,' Kakashi thought grimly, even as he started carefully stroking the other man's hair again. "Sh, it's okay. I'm sorry I asked. I won't do it again. You need to calm down."

Iruka nodded, seeming to do his best to calm his erratic breathing. He started to cough again, a horrible wet sound.

"When I was younger," Iruka whispered, looking up past Kakashi, "I always wondered… what dying felt like. It's cold."

"You aren't dying," Kakashi growled, his hand tightening in Iruka's hair and nearly pulling it. "I'm going to think of something to get us out of here. Don't you dare give up on me now, Iruka. I still want answers."

"…This from the one…who's past…nobody knows," Iruka smiled wryly. "I asked, you know. Nobody…could say. Except Guy but…he wouldn't…"

Kakashi felt he should have been more surprised by this, but couldn't seem to find it in him to be. Iruka had seen him at the memorial. He'd looked into the Sharingun, and who knew what he'd seen there? And he couldn't be upset that Iruka hadn't asked him when Iruka's own past was obviously painful for the teacher. He obviously understood that something's were best left said by other people.

But he hadn't meant about Iruka's past, Kakashi realized as he brushed a few stray tears from Iruka's face. They were questions about himself that the chuunin had unknowingly and unintentionally brought into light. Iruka obviously thought there was something in him worth trusting, worth saving. Kakashi had to know what it was. He'd been trying to see it himself since Rin had left him completely alone. He needed to ask him.

He needed to know if he was still redeemable somehow, even now. He needed to know if it was possible for him to still be human. He needed to know if these feelings he felt as Iruka grabbed his hand for strength as he trembled with pain had a name. He wanted to know why it hurt so much to watch Iruka suffer. He didn't know these answers, never had, but he had a feeling Iruka might. He desperately wanted to know them.

"You can't leave me here alone in the hell-hole," Kakashi hissed, leaning down so his face was just inches from Iruka's. He pored the little chakara he'd manage to regain the last couple of days into the skin under his hand, adding his own strength to the chuunin's own. Trying to be an anchor. "I'm not going to let you escape that easily."

"Why are you trying so hard?" Iruka whispered, so soft Kakashi barely heard him, his eyes dropping closed as he slid toward unconsciousness. "I'm not you. I'm not that strong. I'm just me…a chuunin…a teacher…expendable. Why do…copy-nin…care?"

It was a question that Kakashi was half-afraid of answering. If he had been following the Shinobi code, he would have left Iruka behind when he still had a chance to escape, but that had never been an option in Kakashi's mind. He'd first thought it was part of his personal oath never to let another one of his teammate's die but…each time Iruka was hurt it felt like a personal attack. Each time he struggled for breath, it was Kakashi's fight too.

"I don't know," Kakashi whispered to the still form in his lap, running one of his hands along the side of Iruka's face. "I don't know why I care so much. I don't know how you've done what you've done. That's why I've got to ask you. That's why you aren't dying on me now, damn it."

Iruka didn't respond, his head lying limply in Kakashi's lap, his breathing soft and shallow. Fading.

Kakashi was nearly bent double, his hands on either side of the chuunin's torso, his forehead resting on Iruka's. Tears were streaming down his face. Where they Obito's? Could they possibly be his? He didn't know, nor really care.

"I don't know how to help you." He whispered to his own legs under Iruka's hair. "I've found someone important enough to me that I want to help and I can't. There has to be something! What good is having a thousand jutsus if none of them are any use!"

It hurt, Kakashi decided as he raised his head slightly to look at the face just below his own, because it was like losing all three of them again. Iruka was like all of his long dead teammates rolled up into one. Yondaime's strength and fire. His determination to prove himself, to not let those he cared about down. Obito's open heart, if blunt honesty. His fiery temper, and heartfelt free laughter. Rin…

_"It's a Jutsu, Kakashi. One that requires little chakara, but a great deal of control. There are so many wounded men coming in from the battle. Dying men. It won't heal them, not completely, but it'll be enough to pull them out of danger. I know your injured Kakashi but…if I show you once, can you help me? Just for a little while?"_

Kakashi opened the eye he didn't know he'd closed. It was a distant memory, one among countless hundreds, but the sharingun never forgot a jutsu.

The problem with having over a thousand was you sometimes didn't know which ones you knew.

The Copy-nin sat up, taking several deep breaths to calm himself and redirect his minimal chakara to his center. It was a jutsu designed to draw out poisons, but Kakashi was sure he could modify it slightly to work on the infection. To lessen it, if nothing else.

Kakashi closed his eyes again, putting his hand over the inflamed wound and pulsing his chakara around it. He could feel the fevered flesh as it pulled back against his gentle chakara tugs, the dead or infected tissue rising to the top of the wound where it could escape.

It took the little chakara he'd managed to reserve, and he was completely spent when it was done. He could only hope it would be enough. He raised a limb that felt far to heavy as he lay next to Iruka again; putting his head gently so his chin was hooked over Iruka's shoulder and one arm was around the chuunin's waist.

He wanted to stay awake; to make sure Iruka would be all right, but the warmth next to his body, and the reassuring heartbeat so close to his own, swiftly lulled him too sleep.


	18. Part 2: Chapter 8

**A/N:** All right, I think I've managed to get my fluff fix the last couple of days. The world seems determined to slow me down, but I'm not going to let it. I gave myself a deadline, and I'm going to meet it or die trying! So, expect the end of Part II as fast as I can get it done, both parts done in time for Thanksgiving break if I can manage it.

I'm willing to admit that I'm taking some major liberties with the timeline for Iruka's back-story, but as far as I can tell the timeline itself isn't exactly consistent. I'm going to wave this off with 'not long after is a very subjective term', and do my best to justify the inconstancies a little better in the sequel. Thanks for your patience, guys, and enjoy.

**_All The Broken Pieces_**  
_Part II: Chapter 8_

Iruka felt himself slowly returning to consciousness, no matter how hard he tried to remain asleep. He'd been having a wonderful dream. He couldn't remember what it was about, but it was warm there and everything was made of silver. He didn't want to wake up and come back to the cold, miserable, dark world he had left.

Sensations returned to his still mostly-asleep mind in fragmented pieces. The world around him smelt of death and decay, but there was also a vaguely musky sent he couldn't quite place but knew he recognized from somewhere. He could feel the ground below him, to rough to be his own bed but…the feeling of warmth and safety that had been in his dream still encircled him.

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open. He found that it was true, he wasn't dead, and the torture hadn't been just a nightmare. Though, yes, he was also still warm. He felt safe and wanted. It had been so long since he felt like this, not since the hug his mother had given him before they went to fight the Kyuubi.

'And since it's already been established that I am not dead,' Iruka thought, not sure whether he was pleased with that realization or not. He tried to turn, but felt the arms around him tighten their grip. 'Wait, arms?'

Iruka looked down at his chest and waist, where the arms currently had hold of him. The one that had snaked underneath him was around his chest, angled down slightly to meet the arm that went over around his body at his waist and the hands where clasped together. The hands where thin and pale, with a sort of tan line as if they were usually covered from the knuckle and below.

'Kakashi's hands,' Iruka realized, blood rushing to his face. 'Oh, this is only slightly awkward.'

The slight crush on Kakashi he'd started to develop while in Konoha had not been dampened by this experience. In fact, if anything, it had increased; a problem that didn't help the awkwardness of the situation in the slightest. Aside from that, Kakashi's breath on his raw back stung and his side was starting to ache from lying on it so long.

Those were much less complicated things to focus on; instead of wondering why having Kakashi close to him made Iruka feel safe.

Iruka gave a half-hearted wiggle to try and break Kakashi's grip. As expected, the arms tightened almost painfully around him.

What wasn't expected was the harsh whisper in his ear. "Where do you think you're going, Iruka?"

"You're awake?" Iruka squeaked. Or rather, tried to say. His throat was too dry for it to come out properly. Instead, it was something closer to a dog whistle saying "oo…ke?"

Apparently, Kakashi spoke dog whistle as he muttered, "been for a while."

Iruka swallowed, trying to make his throat function properly. "Too tight, 'Kashi."

The grip on him loosened instantly, though he didn't completely let go. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't."

They sat in silence for a while, and Iruka found his eyes drifting closed again. Kakashi was warm, there weren't any bad guys there at the moment, and everything else was starting to seem less and less important.

"How do you feel?"

What? How did he feel? Wasn't that a bit of a complicated question to ask at the moment?

"Iruka…"

The urgency in Kakashi's voice brought Iruka back down to earth. Kakashi was upset, so that was bad. Why was he upset?

'Because you've been sick, stupid,' his mid supplied helpfully. Oh, yeah. Right. Iruka did a mental check. He still ached everywhere, his shoulder especially, but it no longer felt like it was on fire and he didn't seem to be dieing any more. That could definitely count as a good thing.

"Feel, okay," Iruka managed with a smile. The hand around his waist released itself; the chuunin tried not to feel disappointed, and came to rest against the side of his face. Iruka was surprised how gently it rested there. Looking at Kakashi, looking at what Kakashi could do, you wouldn't have thought him capable of such a soft gesture.

"Your fever's broken," Kakashi observed in a whisper. "That's good."

Yes, it was. Iruka blinked in surprise. "What did you do?"

Kakashi didn't answer. Instead he disentangled himself from Iruka and sat up.

The younger man had to suppress a sigh at the loss of contact- mentally kicking himself for even wanting to sigh in the first place- as he listened to Kakashi slowly make his way across the cell. Whatever he'd done, it had drained the Copy-nin almost completely. Iruka was impressed he could still move.

Kakashi returned after a moment, sitting behind the chuunin again. Iruka yelped a little as Kakashi put his hands on his bare chest and pulled the brunette up to sit against him. Iruka found the world spun violently once he was upright. He groaned, closing his eyes and ignoring the pain as he leaned completely on Kakashi for support.

Kakashi chuckled softly, Iruka could feel it on his shoulder, and grabbed something next to him. Iruka felt it pressed against his lips, and Kakashi whispering in his ear, "come on, Iruka, open your mouth. You've got to eat something."

He didn't want to. Forcing something into his system was not the slightest bit appealing. This, he had to admit, meant he really probably should. Deciding it was easier to eat if he didn't see what he would be gagging down, Iruka opened his mouth and took a bite of what ever it was Kakashi was holding there.

It hurt his teeth and he straggled to control his gag reflex. He chewed it just enough to swallow, nearly chocking as he forced it down. Something cool and metal was put against his mouth as Kakashi supported him and gently stroked his hair.

"It's not really clean, but you're dehydrated. You need to drink."

'Demanding jerk,' Iruka thought without the slightest bit of anger, opening his mouth and allowing the water in. It tasted a bit like mud, but it hadn't killed him yet.

Kakashi forced him to choke down two more bites of food- or something similar to it- and three more swallows of water before he was satisfied. Iruka kept reminding himself that it was probably a good thing to do this to himself, if Kakashi said so, no matter that he thought he was going to throw up.

"How do you feel now?" Kakashi sounded genuinely concerned; his hand still threading it's way through Iruka's matted hair. A part of Iruka was thrilled with the attention Kakashi was giving him. Most of him was blushing.

"Feeling kind of sick," he confessed, looking at the ground.

"Do your best to keep it down. If you can't, at least give me a little warning, okay?"

Oh, that was an interesting spot on the floor. It kind of looked like Sandaime that time Iruka had decided to be helpful and give him a haircut…

"Were you telling me the truth?" Kakashi asked suddenly.

Iruka looked up slightly to stare at the Jounin in shock. Oh, what had he said while in his feverish state? He couldn't quite remember, and he panicked. If he'd confessed to Kakashi that he was attracted to him then he was in all sorts of trouble. "What?"

"Were you…"

"No, no, I heard what you said. About what? I don't…quite…remember."

"Oh." Kakashi was silent for a long time- during which Iruka decided the spot looked more like ramen-deprived Naruto- before he whispered, "when you said Orochimaru had been your sensei."

"Oh," Iruka sighed in relief, glad that Kakashi hadn't said what Iruka feared he would, until what he HAD said sunk in. "Oh…I…if I were going to lie, don't you think…it would be about that instead?"

The hand in his hair moved lower to rub soothing circles on his back while Kakashi shifted him so he could see the Jounin better.

"Calm down, Iruka, I'm sorry." Kakashi leaned forward ever so slightly so his forehead was resting against Iruka's temple with their noses almost touching. Iruka's breath stuck in his throat. "That's what I thought, but it doesn't make sense. Anko's one messed up cookie."

Iruka's breath was jump started by Kakashi's words. He pulled back a little so he could give the silver-haired man an odd look. "Cookie?"

Kakashi looked mildly sheepish. He really had an expressive face, when you could see it. Iruka wondered, a little, if that was why he wore the mask.

Except…except it wasn't. He said he looked like his father, so Iruka had told him why he…oh.

"My sensei used to say it," Kakashi offered as an excuse. Iruka blinked, trying to see if he knew who Kakashi's sensei had been. He didn't, and the only time he'd heard anyone call another person a cookie was when Yondaime had stopped to talk to Iruka's father while he'd been training with him. Yondaime had seen Iruka's exhaustion and called him a tough cookie then.

It seemed time for another oh, but he really was getting tired of a one-word vocabulary. Instead, he decided to back track a little to the original comment. "Anko was messed up before sensei…"

Iruka winced. He thought he'd broken himself of that habit long ago.

Kakashi didn't seem to notice, or else decided not to comment. "You said she killed her father."

Iruka's eyes widened, and he looked at Kakashi fearfully. "They…I didn't…those secrets weren't mine to tell! You can't tell anyone, please! They couldn't ever prove it and…"

"Maa," Kakashi said, his open eye looking at the ceiling. "You never did say her name, so really I can't say for certain, can I?"

Iruka smiled at him gratefully. "The man was a bastard, anyway. He did terrible things to her. She was wild and twisted even before she graduated."

Kakashi smiled. He could believe that. "Alright, so there was you and Anko, and a mysterious third teammate whose name began with H."

Iruka was quiet for a while before he whispered reverently, "Hayate. The third member of our team was Hayate."

"Okay," Kakashi somehow couldn't bring himself to be surprised. That explained a little bit, actually. Like Hayate rising so quickly to the Jounin rank, even though he had been young. Not, of course, that Kakashi was one to talk.

"You don't have one of those," Kakashi's hand moved Iruka's hair aside and rested on his bare neck.

Iruka smiled wryly. "He didn't get a chance to. He wanted to perfect it before he risked putting it on his favorite student. I told Sandaime about his experiments before he managed it."

Kakashi had to exercise a great deal of control not to open his sharingan as wide as his other eye on sheer reflex. "What?"

"To which part?"

"How about both?"

Iruka shook his head, leaning it back against Kakashi's as he didn't feel he had the strength to hold it up anymore. "Not here. I shouldn't even have said what I did here. When we're home, and safe, I'll tell you."

Kakashi nodded, and held Iruka a little bit tighter as they heard footstep approaching their cell. The door swung open, and the chuunin hissed with pain that the bright light suddenly filling his vision caused.

"Up. Both of you."

Kakashi thought vaguely about protesting, but reminded himself that he really wasn't in any position to do so. The memories of his last attempt at defying their captors were still too fresh. Too painful. For now, he was powerless.

He helped Iruka as they both struggled to their feet. They weren't more than halfway up before the guards at the door lost patience. Kakashi stumbled a bit as they jerked him to his feet, his body protesting the strain. Beside him, Iruka swayed dangerously, but there wasn't anything Kakashi could do about it as his wrists where bound.

Kakashi was surprised as they were marched, single file, all the way to the end of the hallway. He couldn't say he was happy though. When one is being tortured, moving to a new room is never a good thing.

The door was opened, and the pair found themselves standing in and slightly forest area, surrounded by high walls and rows of seats above that.

"It's a chuunin exam area," Iruka whispered next to him. "From when each nation used to hold their own. They must have fixed it up."

Kakashi nodded, ignoring the jeering crowd around them. He couldn't see them very well, it was dark up there, but he had a feeling that there weren't as many of them as it sounded like there was. At least, he hoped not.

"Welcome, Honored Guests of Konoha!" Rang a voice that echoed throughout the domed structure. The crowd roared with laughter and jeers. Iruka stiffened beside him. Seemed his weren't the only nightmares the voice of the faceless torturer would haunt. That's who it was, too. ANBU man's seemingly permanent replacement.

"I'm afraid that you have proven most useless to us, and your Hokage has started to get suspicious. She even sent a delegation demanding your release. So, we've decided to offer you a chance at freedom."

"Liar," Iruka hissed, and Kakashi allowed himself a small smile.

"We will have a duel to the death," the man said brightly. "Whichever of you successfully kills the other will go free. The loser, well…he'll be dead, won't he? Should you refuse to fight, well, I'm afraid I have found new ways to create our revolution. I will have a little fun, before you die, but you will both be killed in the end. Shall we begin then?"


	19. Part 2: Chapter 9

**A/N:** The update after this one is going to come very quickly, so don't hunt me down and kill me, okay? I plan to have it posted sometime LATE tonight or early Wednesday morning before I'm dragged off for Thanksgiving. Only those two chapters left in Part II, aren't you guys excited? I am!

This chapter is a bit more fragmented, sorry about that. The fact that I've got a couple of different story lines going on close together makes it sort of a necessity.

Also, remember kids, if you kill me you'll never get to see the ending! Wouldn't that be sad?

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**Part II: Chapter 9_

Weapon kits were thrown at the pair before the men that had been guarding them sprung up in to the stands to watch. Kakashi caught his and yanked a kunai out, charging at Iruka even as the chuunin caught his own pouch. The block was slower than Kakashi had expected, but it came just as he knew it would.

"What are you doing?" Iruka hissed from behind his weapon, brown eyes staring up with surprise in to the face barely inches from his own.

"If we don't fight, we'll be signing away our lives for sure," Kakashi muttered back, pressing down slightly on the weapons between them. "Give me a few minutes to come up with something to try and escape. We'll fight in the meantime, but at least this way we stand a chance."

Iruka stared at him, wide-eyed, before slowly nodding. "Promise me no chakra?"

Kakashi laughed harshly. It wasn't like he had much to use anyway. "Promise."

They sprang apart, landing a few feet away from each other. Kakashi threw the kunai in his hand at Iruka, forcing the chuunin to roll in to the nearby trees and bushes. Good, that would give Kakashi a few moments to stall and think.

His first instinct was to simply let Iruka kill him, but there were several things wrong with that idea. The first one being that he didn't really believe the survivor would be allowed to go free. More likely, they'd be allowed outside and the chance to run away a bit before they were hunted down and killed. If Iruka ended up dead anyway, and Kakashi held no doubts that in his current state Iruka would be caught, the act was pointless.

His second reason was that he did not want to force Iruka to deal with the guild he would surely feel. Kakashi knew he couldn't handle it if he survived when Iruka did not, not when they'd been through so much together now, and he knew the kind-hearted chuunin would feel the same. Even more so, since he would be the one responsible. The idea of him tricking Iruka in to that much pain was not a possibility in Kakashi's mind.

Three shuriken shot towards him, two purposefully missing him- though they were close enough to scratch him- while he had to dodge the third. Iruka wasn't far behind his weapons, and Kakashi winced as he caught the other man's punch.

"You can't stand still so long, you idiot."

"I'm going around to the other side to check if there's a way out. Give me a couple minutes head start, if you can, and then follow."

Iruka nodded almost imperceptibly, shifting his weight back as he did so, before kicking up and catching Kakashi in the chest. It didn't hurt- not him, anyway, but he saw Iruka wince at the strain it put on his back- but it was convincing enough that he could use it to stumble back in to the bushes. Hidden from the crowd momentarily, Kakashi did his best to run to the other side of the testing area. There was a way out. There had to be.

Iruka, meanwhile, leapt into the tree after him. He knew he couldn't run through the treetops like he longed to, not without chakra, but he could use the leaves to hide himself for a little. The good thing about them being so low on chakra was that their enemies couldn't track them using it. They had to rely on sight and sound alone, and he and Kakashi were doing their best to deny them the first one.

Iruka tossed a kunai through the branches, making noise to make it seem like he had traveled that way.

It was because of that extra consideration that Iruka got to see what happened next without anyone being aware of it. From the stands dropped about ten of the cloud ninja. As he watched, five of them turned in to him and five turned in to Kakashi. They spread out quickly, fanning out throughout the area.

Iruka frowned, watching a clone of himself scout around the ground below him. 'Why are the interfering? Putting themselves in danger? Unless…unless they know we aren't trying to kill each other…and they're going to try and make us paranoid so we'll….' Iruka's eyes widened. That was it. They wanted to make it so they wouldn't know who was a friend or foe, so they would end up attacking and killing each other.

They knew Kakashi was too low on chakra to use his sharingan, and a well-preformed henge would fool Iruka if he wasn't careful.

'Damn it,' Iruka cursed, hiding further in the shadows until the enemy below him disappeared. 'I have to find Kakashi and warn him!'

Iruka dropped down through the branches as stealthily as could, taking off in the direction Kakashi had gone.

Kakashi, for his part, was unaware of any of this as he inspected the far wall only to conclude that the door they had come through was, in fact, the only door it was possible to come though. He turned around to find Iruka racing towards him.

He waited, crouched, for his partner to reach him, but something felt off. The way Iruka was moving was not the way Iruka moved, and the air around him didn't have the warm aura Iruka had. Something was wrong, but Kakashi could not figure out what it was. Part of him screamed at him to use the sharingan, but he knew he couldn't. It would drain him completely and then he'd be useless.

"Kakashi," Iruka panted as he reached him, the dark loose hair sticking to his face. "I'm so glad I found you!"

He didn't smell like Iruka either. Iruka smelt like Konoha, like damp pine trees and earth, even after he'd been away from it this long. Like the smell of his home had been permanently ingrained in to his skin. This Iruka smelt…like soap.

Kakashi tensed just slightly, reaching for a kunai. Something was very wrong about this; he just wished he knew exactly what.

"I told you where I was going to be," Kakashi said slowly, eyeing the other shinobi up and down.

"I'm tired, give me a break," Iruka whined.

That did it. Iruka didn't whine. Not like that, with that pathetic little simper in his voice. Iruka was strong, had agreed to keep fighting him even though it hurt.

Kakashi threw his kunai, something Iruka had obviously not been expecting as he froze. The Jounin realized, too late, that in his exhaustion his aim had been off. Instead of decapitating wound, it was a fatal one. For one terrifying second, he thought he had been wrong. Then, with a soft pop, the henge was dropped and the boy fell to the ground.

Kakashi stepped over, looking at him closely. The boy was a genin, no older than his own students had been. Expendable.

Kakashi reached out a hand and gently closed the boy's eyes. There had to be a reason they'd sent this boy out to die. And they'd undoubtedly sent him to die, or they would have just sent henged clones. Kakashi had played right in to this, whether he'd wanted to or not.

He had to find Iruka. Now.

Kakashi dashed out of the clearing, only to have another take his place as the real Iruka entered.

Unlike Kakashi, Iruka did not hesitate. He knew the instant he stepped in to the clearing that the person standing before him was not Kakashi. He launched the shuriken instinctively, one lodging itself in each shoulder. The henge dropped and a boy of about sixteen replaced him.

Iruka tackled the boy quickly. It would have been more effective had been a healthy weight, but for the moment it worked. The boy whimpered, dark eyes wide. Iruka realized, belatedly, that he wasn't wearing a mask. That was odd.

"Don't kill me," the boy begged, all wide pleading eyes and shaking body.

"I'm not going to kill you," Iruka frowned, though he did pull a kunai out for good measure. "Not if you tell me what I need to know."

"I don't want to die," the kid sobbed. Iruka's heart went out to him. "Samuru-sama told us to come, we had to obey! He said it was for the good of the nation."

"What was?" Iruka asked, not lowering his kunai but dropping the intimidating manner. This kid would never have passed any of his classes in Konoha if he was this afraid to die.

"Our deaths. He said…said it would give Raikage-sama an excuse…to step down. They would make Samuru-sama the Raikage. He could make…make war…align with Sound…"

Iruka felt his breath catch in his throat. Damn it all to hell! And if the smell of blood was any indication, Kakashi had already killed one of them.

If they escaped alive, they could stop this mess. Tsunade could use them as proof for the Raikage that he was being undermined from the inside. If they didn't, Konoha was in trouble.

'Tsunade would only need one,' Iruka thought grimly, still holding on to the whimpering teenager. 'And it'll be much easier without Samuru,' Iruka had deduced that was the name of the torture specialist, 'to order them around. He's the head, and without him they'll fall apart.'

Striking out suddenly, Iruka pinched the nerves on the back of the boy's neck, at the base of his skull. He instantly fell unconscious, and Iruka let him drop. He ran, praying he would find Kakashi.

Without the use of his sharingan, Kakashi was understandably paranoid. When another Iruka came running at him, he obeyed his first instinct and pinned the other to a tree. To his surprise, this Iruka didn't resist. And he smelt right. That was good.

"Kakashi, it's me! The real me!"

The Jounin twitched. He wanted to believe it. It would be comforting to have Iruka by his side again, but he didn't have the chakara or the energy to decide if this was genjutsu mixed with a henge. He couldn't risk it. "Prove it to me. Prove to me that you're Iruka."

He was expecting a dozen things. Information about himself, or Naruto, or Konoha that only Iruka could possibly know. He wasn't expecting the chuunin to lean forward and place his mouth firmly over Kakashi's own, causing the copy-nin to release him completely.

The lips were dry and chapped, rough broken skin catching his own. But there was need there, desire, and something else. Something Kakashi didn't have a name for. The warm lips pulled back before Kakashi could gather his wits enough to properly respond.

Iruka pulled away from Kakashi, his brown eyes looking earnestly up in to the open one. "I'm sorry I didn't ever figure out how to take your pain away, Kakashi. That's all I really wanted to do. I'm sorry you got stuck here with me; when all I did was slow you down. I'm sorry I must leave you now. But, Kakashi, this isn't about what we want. This can't be about what I want. This is about doing what's best for Konoha, no matter much it hurts. We're Shinobi. That's what we have to do. Always. You're stronger than I am, you'll get out of here. I know you will." Another soft kiss, a ghost of one really, against his lips before those lips were by his ear with a whispered, "good-bye."

And just like that, Iruka was gone, disappearing through the undergrowth of the area.

'What. The. Hell?!" Kakashi mentally shook himself; trying to process the last few minutes in warp speed. 'He kissed me! And what was with the speech? What the hell is going on?'

With a growl, the Jounin raced after Iruka. There was no way he could have gotten far.

When he spotted a flash of brown off to his left, Kakashi pounced on it.

"What the hell was that about, Iruka?"

"What was what about?" Iruka asked, staring up at him in honest confusion.

He didn't smell right either. Damn! Kakashi slammed the man down, making sure his head bounced. Another child appeared below him, the henge dropping as he fell unconscious.

It was then that Kakashi registered a lot of yelling coming from the stands. Now what? He raced toward the source, running up the now open stairs without really pausing to ask himself why they were open now.

He found his way up the observation platform, where the other contestants in the chuunin exams would watch the battles. There were several shinobi, standing back against one side looking uncertain. Kakashi recognized the scarred back and tangled hair he could see. Iruka.

Iruka who had a kunai through the back of his hand, pinning himself and whoever he had below him in place. Kakashi felt his throat squeeze tight.

"You wouldn't," hissed the man he couldn't see. The torture specialist. Iruka had him, but how?

"So sure," Iruka laughed, a mirthless sound. "Orochimaru was my sensei. There's very little I wouldn't do."

"You don't have the chakra!" The man cried desperately, trying to break Iruka's grip. The chuunin refused to let go.

"Maybe not," Iruka whispered harshly. "But I have to protect my most precious person, my world. I have enough chakra for this."

Kakashi watched, stomach writhing, as Iruka pushed his fingers and that of the other man up into the snake symbol.

No. No, no, no, no no nonononono!

"Don't!" Kakashi yelled, moving to try and do something, anything, to stop this. He could not, would not, let Iruka die. Not like this, not ever!

He was stopped by a blast behind him that had nothing to with him or Iruka, an it took several of the unsure Cloud nin off guard.

"Iruka-kun! I thought you swore never to use a jutsu taught to you by sensei ever again. So much for your promises!"


	20. Part 2: Chapter 10

**A/N:** And so ends part two! I hope you guys enjoyed it, I know I have. Part III will be coming out shortly, along with a serious of mostly fluffy one shots that you'll need to read before you read the sequel, but that don't fit in the time frame of this story. Nice, huh? Keep your eyes out for them!

**_All The Broken Pieces_**  
_Part II: Chapter 10_

"Iruka-kun! I thought you swore never to use a jutsu taught to you by Sensei ever again. So much for your promises!"

Kakashi turned, amazed and nearly dizzy with relief, to see Anko, Guy, and Guy's student- Neji- standing among some unconscious cloud Nin. Apparently, Anko's explosion had knocked them out.

Never, in all his life, had Kakashi been so happy to see his rival. If Guy had been any closer, Kakashi would have kissed him.

Iruka grinned over his shoulder, dropping the hand seal. "Just waiting for you, Anko-chan."

It was a lie, and they all knew it. Iruka had been fully intending to die and save his world. They could argue his intent later, though.

A handful of Cloud Nin rushed in at that moment, looking slightly dazed and confused. They seemed reluctant to attack the five Konoha Nins before them.

'And they couldn't have been like this before?' Kakashi thought bitterly, falling into a fighting stance.

The man still in Iruka's grasp started to try and break free, which seemed to be their cue. One dove immediately for Kakashi, but to his surprise, Guy dashed forward and knocked the man into- and through- the nearest wall.

"You look exhausted, my eternal rival," Guy grinned at him. "And we still have a trip home."

Kakashi thought, for a total of about six seconds, of protesting that he wasn't all that tired. He was pretty sure, though, that he looked like someone who'd died, walked through hell, and come back again so the chance of Guy believing him were none and maybe less than that. He stepped a little closer to his green clad companion.

"So, what's the plan for getting out of here?"

"We are going to grab you two and run for the door."

"Good plan. Straight forward, easy to remember…"

Kakashi ducked a punch, returning it with one of his own the ninja's groin. Normally, he didn't fight that dirty, but his life had sucked the last two weeks and he didn't really care if one of those responsible for it never had children.

Guy turned to him after disabling a Kunoichi that had tried to jump him, laying her down on the floor. "I'm glad you're alright, Kakashi."

Kakashi returned the smile, realizing afterwards that Guy could actual see it but not really caring. He was too tired to care. They were actually going to get out of this. Tsunade hadn't abandoned them and it was going to be all right.

A familiar cry of pain got his and Guy's attention. Iruka stumbled back from the man he'd been holding down; gasping slightly as he clutched his side with blood slicked fingers. Kakashi got a good look at the man for the first time as he stumbled to Iruka's side. Short brown hair, wide blue eyes, and scars that pretty much divided his face in to four sections. He was just a kid, probably no older than Iruka, which Kakashi found vaguely disturbing.

He wanted, badly, to wipe that sick grin off the bastard's face, but as he cradled Iruka to him to get a good look at the new wound, this seemed much more important. Guy could handle the other man, and then Kakashi could content himself with cursing the man's soul to hell as he kicked and spit upon his corpse.

"Determined to make yourself a pin cushion before we get out of here, aren't you?" Kakashi asked gently, pulling Iruka's fingers back. The wound wasn't deep, but it was bleeding quite a bit, a long with the back of Iruka's hand.

"I'm sorry," Iruka muttered, not looking at him. "I've been nothing but…"

"Great, this entire time," Kakashi finished forcefully, using his hands to put pressure on the wound and trusting that Anko and Neji would watch his back. That was why they'd come all this way, after all. "Which is why you're going to be fine and not quit on my now, got it?"

Iruka smiled at him, a look that would have been playful and teasing if not for the pain in his eyes. "Yes, Jounin-sama."

Kakashi growled his protest at the title, but chose to remain silent as he watched Guy face off with the man who'd been in charge of their interrogation. A part of his pride was relieved that Guy seemed to be struggling to get close enough to land a hit. Iruka must have surprised him, because the guy was really fast, even when compared to Guy.

Kakashi smirked a bit as he heard something hit the ground behind him before Anko leaned over him to talk to Iruka.

"How you holding up, kid?"

"How soon can we get out of here?" Iruka responded, looking at her pitifully. Kakashi couldn't really blame him. He was so sick of cement walls and no sunlight! All he really wanted to do now was run through the trees back home until he collapsed from chakra exhaustion.

"Any time, Iruka-kun," Anko smiled at him before turning to look at Kakashi. "How's he doing?"

"It's not deep. I've almost stopped the bleeding," Kakashi responded, surprising himself with how tired he sounded. He didn't feel that tired, just numb. Which, Kakashi concluded as he slowly removed his hands from the now clotted wound, probably meant that he actually was that tired.

There was a crash of rocks crumbling, and after a moment Guy returned.

"He got away," the black-haired Jounin muttered angrily. It had been a while since Kakashi had seen him that serious.

"Leave him," Anko said, knocking another attacking girl into the wall with a rapid succession of hits while Neji was knocking out chakra points with incredible speed. These guys had obviously never faced a Hyuuga as they kept attacking at close range with no Jutsus. Idiots.

Guy looked for a moment like he was ready to protest, and Kakashi knew he himself was. Didn't Anko understand what he and Iruka had been put through? The man was a sick bastard! He needed to face justice. Or better yet, a chidori fired right up his ass.

"Our mission is to get them and get out with as few casualties as possible. Now, lets move!"

Apparently, Guy either agreed with her or Anko had been appointed field commander of this small team as Konoha's beautiful beast obeyed her without question. He bent down and lifted Iruka from Kakashi's grip. Iruka whimpered, oh so softly, and Kakashi had to forcibly restrain himself from holding on and pulling Iruka back.

"Kakashi, can you walk?"

Kakashi nodded, stumbling up to his feet. He wouldn't be able to keep up if they used chakra for speed, or even if they were running fast, but he knew they'd allow him to set the pace and wouldn't leave him behind. Few and far between were Konoha ninja that would abandon their comrades, less those when rescuing said comrade was actually their mission.

Anko eyed him, but nodded. "Guy, take Iruka-kun and teleport outside. Meet as the point we earlier assigned, and do your best to bandage him up while you wait. We won't be long."

Guy nodded, shifting Iruka so he could make hand seals.

"What?" Iruka protested, doing his best to squirm. "I'm not going to leave…"

His protest was cut off by a swirl of chakra smoke and a soft popping sound.

"You didn't bring your med-packs with you," Kakashi observed, following Neji as the boy lead them out. Tsunade had obviously had some foresight to send a Hyuuga to lead them out- there were far more twists and turns down here than Kakashi had expected. The door he'd tried to escape through the first time lead to another hallway.

"No," Anko said, peering over her shoulder and making sure no one snuck up behind them. Kakashi's guess that there weren't as many Nin in the building as they'd tried to make it sound was right. They must have had another shortage, and had been trying to intimidate Kakashi so he would try and get out again.

"You weren't sent to rescue us, were you?"

"We thought you'd be dead by now," Anko said seriously, not sugar coating anything at all. "The Raikage seemed honestly confused when we told him you guys had been missing for a while. He wondered if Tsunade-sama was having trouble holding on to her ninja. The only thing that made us think you were still here was his ANBU guard. Something felt off about him, and the way he stiffened when you guys were mentioned."

"The change in his chakra pattern was a dead give away," Neji supplied, slowing down ever so slightly when Kakashi stumbled.

"So you tailed him here and found out we weren't dead, so the destroy the bodies mission before they got anymore secrets became a rescue."

Anko nodded, not phased in the slightest by Kakashi's harsh tone. "You do have a sharingan, you know. You're body isn't allowed to fall in to the wrong hands."

"You could have told me that two weeks ago," Kakashi muttered.

"You're in pretty good shape for two weeks of torture, Kakashi," Anko observed, eyeing him warily. A part of Kakashi bristled, while the rest of him simply didn't allow himself to think about what she was trying to imply with that.

"Iruka did that. He seemed to get it in to his head that I stood a better chance of surviving then he did, and took it upon himself to heal me when he could."

Anko scowled at nobody in particular. "That sounds like Iruka."

Kakashi was tempted to make some comment about how she would know that, since they'd been on a team, just to see the look on her face, but Neji was there and he respected Iruka's want for privacy more than that. He shared that desire, so he understood.

When they finally stumbled outside, Kakashi hissed in pain and stumbled. The bright sunshine momentarily blinded him, and pain immediately rushed up to his head. Damn bright light!

"Forgot about that," Anko sighed, though whether or not it was an apology was open to debate. She knelt beside Kakashi, helping him to his feet. Kakashi did not enjoy running blind, as now he had to close both his eyes, but had little choice.

After a few minutes, they paused in a darker area. Kakashi risked opening his eye. It took a couple of tries, and still hurt, but he could manage. It was nearing sunset anyway, and soon it would be dark. He could handle the dark.

Guy had now joined them again, having bandaged the worst and newest of the cuts on Iruka's body. Kakashi was pleased to note that Iruka's shoulder was glistening with some type of salve.

"How far can you make it, Kakashi?"

Probably no more than a mile or two, if he were honest with himself. Walking. And, as much as he hated to admit it, successfully getting back home meant admitting that weakness to his comrades. "Not far, and not fast."

"We'll go as far as you can," Guy said, standing up with Iruka now hanging on to him piggyback style. "Then rest and go when you can continue."

Kakashi found that he wanted to take Iruka from him, half thought of offering, but knew it would be useless. He couldn't carry Iruka, no matter how much he wanted to.

Anko nodded, not liking the plan but not seeing another option. She could carry Kakashi, if she had to, but that would leave just Neji to defend them and that didn't seem very wise. "Alright, boys, lets go home."

"Home," Iruka smiled at Kakashi from Guy's back as they started walking, looking something between deliriously happy and too exhausted to really care. "Kakashi…we're finally going home."


	21. Part 3: Chapter 1

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait everyone! You know the excuse for this time of year. Finals. They make life much more difficult, but I'm done now and can write to my heart's content between family time.

Wow. This is the longest thing I've ever written no my own. I still can't quite get my head around it. Part III will mostly be wrapping everything up in a nice, neat little package for you. If you have any questions please let me know, and I'll try to address them in the fic. I have completely redone Iruka's past from what it was when I originally started this, but it still works (except for the scar- shoot!) so I'll be using as much of my new version as possible.

Also, because several of you have asked: I don't know for sure if Orochimaru was Iruka's sensei. I read the idea in **_Soelle_**'s fic "Two Truths, One Lie, and Uncertain Amount of Love" and liked the idea. As I watched the show, I picked up subtle clues. Like Iruka staying for Sasuke's match, but leaving before Naruto's turn. Hhhhmmm…

Also, for those that were confused, the arena in which Kakashi and Iruka fought was underground. So there was no sunlight, just the same artificial lights they were used to. Sorry about that confusion!

_**All The Broken Pieces**  
Part III: Chapter 1_

'Come on, Iruka, you can do it. Breathe in. Breathe out. This is Tsunade. She's not going to hurt you.'

It had become Iruka's mantra the last several minutes as the Hokage continued to inspect his injuries. The moment she'd stepped in to his personal space it had triggered an intense fight-or-flight response within him. His breath started to come in short gasps and ever muscle tensed for action.

It had been the same with Guy. The moment Kakashi was not there, it was all Iruka could do not to panic. Guy had had to hold him down until he'd gotten himself back under control. It was embarrassing and, more than that, worrisome.

He knew he should have expected that reaction. It would be nearly impossible to go through what he had and not suffer some sort of trauma from it. He only hoped it wouldn't last very long. Children needed to touch and be touched. He couldn't teach until he'd gotten over this new set of panic attacks.

It had taken three years to recover from the forced withdrawal into himself and skittishness around others that training under Orochimaru had caused. And that had been with Sarutobi's constant help and guidance. He wasn't so sure that Tsunade would, or could, offer him that same kind of instruction.

"You need a good bath," Tsunade observed quietly. Iruka personally agreed, though he wasn't so sure that everything he was coated in would ever come off. He was sure there would be phantom smells of chili pepper on him for years.

Tsunade placed a gentle finger on his back, and Iruka's breath stopped.

"I could heal these," she whispered without moving, and Iruka let his breath out slowly. Control. He needed to be in control.

"But?"

"But it's best to let them heal on their own. If we use chakra to heal everything, your body will forget how to heal itself. It's best to let wounds that can heal without help do so."

Okay, that made sense. It sucked, but it made sense.

Tsunade removed her hand and stepped back, allowing Iruka time to begin breathing normally again.

"I can pretty well guess what happened while you were being held captive," she said, walking around to stand in front of him. Iruka watched her warily. He couldn't help it, and once she was where he could keep an eye on her he felt infinitely more relaxed.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"I must say that I'm impressed with how well you held up, Iruka. The torture methods they used were extreme. After your Jounin exam they have special courses to cope with this kind of stress, and I'm very proud of you for staying as strong as you did without those classes. Most chuunin level shinobi would have broken."

Iruka smiled wryly. "I survived my sensei, Tsunade-sama. Most things after that are manageable."

"Yes, I suppose so," Tsunade said, and she sounded sad. She sighed, dropping her impressive folded arms stance. "What I'm not clear on is what happened when you attacked the torture specialist. Kakashi's version of events was broken at best, and all three of your rescuers had a slightly different version. I'd like it if you told me what happened, please."

He didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to talk about ANYTHING that had happened there. He just wanted to get clean, eat something, and sleep for years until this whole thing was nothing but a distant memory. He knew she wouldn't allow that, and the more reasonable part of his brain understood the reasons. He still didn't like it.

"Once I'd discovered what was going on from one of the genin…I'm sure Kakashi told you about them…" He waited until Tsunade nodded the affirimtive. "I knew the only way to stop their plan to over throw the Raikage and ally with Orochimaru was to kill their leader. I got to the stairs leading to him as quickly as I could and found that they were already open."

Tsunade nodded again. "Anko told me that they'd opened those doors to make for a quick escape once they had you both. They hadn't expected you to find them."

Iruka smiled a bit at that. "Once there, I ran up the stairs. They weren't paying attention to me. They seemed to still be looking for us below. I attacked the leader. I…I would know him anywhere…even though he didn't have his mask on I knew. The guards were too surprised to do anything or…"

"Anko had them under a genjutsu, if that's what you're wondering."

Iruka nodded again. "I took him so off guard; he didn't have a chance to react before I had him pinned to the wall. I set the technique up almost on instinct. After that, Anko and the others showed up and I'm sure it's all the same after that."

Tsunade nodded a final time, sighing and stepping forward slightly to inspect his eyes. "Would you have had the chakra to perform the technique?"

Iruka smiled a little at that, even if it was one that completely lacked any happiness behind it. "I don't know. At the time I sure thought I'd be able to pull it from somewhere. Maybe I would have."

"I'm glad you didn't. I'd hate to have to tell your students why their favorite teacher was never coming back." Tsunade smiled sadly at him, brushing his bangs back gently. Iruka flinched at her touch, but she ignored it. "They've missed you terribly. I'll let them come see you when you're feeling up to it. I'm sure it would help everyone."

Iruka closed his eyes and nodded. He didn't want his students to see him like this, and he certainly wasn't up to seeing them just yet. Soon, though. At seventeen he'd discovered the healing properties of children, and he would be happy to see them again. Let their innocence soothe his jaded soul like it had done then.

"Do you think you can manage to bathe yourself? And be honest with me, Iruka."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade studied him a while longer before stepping back toward the door. "The bathroom is through there. It has a shower, clean towels, and hospital gown waiting for you. Take as long a shower as you need, the hot water is unlimited. Once you're done, ring for a nurse and she'll bring you some food. After that, you're under strict orders to sleep. Got it?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka said meekly. She was almost out the door when he yelled for her again. "Hokage-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I…How's Kakashi?"

Tsunade smiled at him as she looked back in the room, her hazel eyes shining with something Iruka couldn't quite read. "The brat's fine. Dehydrated and suffering from extreme chakra exhaustion, but he'll be fine in no time. If we can keep him in bed instead of demanding to see you."

Iruka blushed, looking down at his bare feet, as Tsunade shut the door.

One hour later, Iruka was clean, warm, and fed. He hated hospital food, generally, but right now it was the best thing he'd ever eaten. It was warm, it required no effort to chew and swallow, and he knew it wasn't poisoned. Life was all about the simple comforts, really.

Now he was lying on his uninjured side, trying to force his body to sleep. He'd been able to rest fitfully while being carried in turns by the Jounin, but whenever he did sleep it had been filled with nightmares of the last few weeks, or where their rescue had been a dream and he and Kakashi were still trapped. Somehow, he knew if he fell asleep now it would be the same thing. Idly, he thought of ringing a nurse and asking for some heavy sedatives.

A soft knock at the door drew him from his mental menu of the things he'd tried as a teenager to help him sleep without nightmares- what had worked and what hadn't.

"Who is it?"

"Might Guy," came the cheery, if subdued (for Guy) response.

Iruka blinked a couple of times, taken off guard by the answer. He didn't know who it was he'd been expecting, but Guy certainly hadn't been it. "Come in, Guy-sensei."

The tall Jounin walked in, carrying with him the biggest basket of fruit Iruka had ever seen. It was all he could do to stifle a laugh as Guy's bushy eyebrows appeared over the top of the pineapple perched on the top of the gift.

"Guy-sensei, what is that?"

"It is a get well gift for you, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka continued to stare opened mouthed at him. "But that must have cost a fortune! Some of the fruits are really rare, and they're huge…"

The basket was set on the bed side table so that Guy could strike his nice guy pose, his teeth somehow flashing even in the dim artificial lights of the hospital room. "There's no need to worry about that Iruka-sensei. You should just focus on recovering your strength."

Iruka did chuckle then, a little bit. It felt good. "Thank you, Guy-sensei. I appreciate your concern."

"Aa," Guy said, waving it off in a manner similar to Kakashi. "How are you, really, Iruka-sensei?"

"Better now that I'm clean," Iruka answered honestly. Though he was seriously thinking of cutting his hair as he was sure the tangles were never going to come out. "Is there something I can help you with, Guy-sensei?"

Guy took a seat by Iruka's bed; carefully keeping his hands were Iruka could see them. It was a small gesture, but Iruka appreciated it anyway. He was helping to keep him relaxed without making it seem like he was looking down upon him. Never let it be said that Guy was insensitive. Brash, but not insensitive. "My eternal rival and I have discussed much of what happened."

"Oh," Iruka said, blinking slowly. He wasn't sure what else he was supposed to say to that. If Guy thought he was discussing what he'd been through then he was crazier than Iruka thought, but if he wanted something else then Iruka was completely lost.

"Yes. You are truly a man full of love and compassion, Iruka-sensei."

Now Iruka was really confused. Guy was still looking at him with a serious look on his face, and it so ill suited him that Iruka was almost tempted to laugh. Where on earth was Guy going with all of this?

"I told you once that you would find the answers to your questions when you were ready for the responsibility that went with them, do you remember?"

Iruka nodded slowly. Had it really only been three weeks ago? It felt so much longer than that.

"You showed my eternal rival perhaps more love and compassion during a time when you could have blamed him for your suffering then he has perhaps known in his whole life."

Blame Kakashi for what happened? The thought had never even entered Iruka's mind and it seemed utterly ridiculous to even SUGGEST that he could have. Of course none of this was Kakashi's fault. He'd just been doing what he thought was best as the field commander, and he'd suffered just as much as Iruka had…

Besides, Kakashi had saved him. He'd been dying that night, he knew it. It had been cold and getting darker. Kakashi's voice had nearly faded away. But then Kakashi had done something, and the next morning he'd been alive.

Blaming the other man for that whole mess wouldn't have been fair, and Iruka was about to tell Guy so when the black-haired Jounin held up his hand to keep him quiet.

"Not everyone would have been as kind as you Iruka-sensei, nor as strong. All of this has impressed my eternal rival greatly. He thinks very highly of you, and cares for you."

Kakashi…Kakashi cared?

Iruka mentally kicked himself. Of course Kakashi cared. They were comrades, teammates. Kakashi had cared for him during their torture. Yes, he cared. So why did having Guy say it out loud make his stomach do flips?

"It is for this reason that I have decided I can tell you his story now, if you still wish to hear it and help him. I now believe you are capable of doing what you expressed to me you wanted to."

Guy would tell him Kakashi's past now? He could finally know all that had happened to the older man and help him? He could show Kakashi that he understood! He could really help him now, finally, instead of just being a burden.

And yet…and yet something felt off. Yes, he still wanted the information. He still wanted to ease the pain he'd seen in Kakashi's eyes; that he'd watched increase over the last several weeks. He still wanted all of that but…he didn't want Guy to be the one to tell him.

Iruka smiled at the Jounin kindly, carefully meeting his eyes. He was not broken. He was NOT. "I appreciate it, Guy, I really do. It's just…if anyone is going to tell me…I want it to be Kakashi. I want him to want my help. Do you understand?"

Guy smiled then, this time lacking in the sparkling effects. Iruka thought this made the smile seem more genuine, but didn't say so. "Of course, Iruka-sensei. Now I know you will be able to help Kakashi…and yourself. I wish you the best of luck with my eternal rival. He is not an easy person to deal with, but I am sure you will manage somehow."


	22. Part 3: Chapter 2

**A/N:** So, this semester is going to be the death of me. End of story. I'll try and finish this before I die though. Promise!

Be warned: Iruka gives a lot of information in this chapter, I kid you not. I wanted to show it instead of just have him say, but that would have been far too many flashbacks. So, Iruka is going to tell you his story, almost completely. Still have questions? Just ask.

Finally, if you check the episodes where the women and children are in the caves, it is Anko and Iruka that are in there with them. Coincidence? Maybe…

The thing about Sasuke's match is also true. Though I think they just later forgot Iruka was there, perhaps.

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**__Part III: Chapter 2_

It was dark when Iruka was jolted from his sleep by the sound of the door opening. He froze, his breath catching in his throat as he closed his eyes tight. Subtly, he stretched his chakra out, just barely brushing the person that had entered. Feeling the familiar signature, Iruka allowed himself to relax.

"That took you a little longer than I thought it would, Kakashi."

The copy ninja smiled behind his mask in the dark. "Tsunade knows me too well for it to be any easier. Are you alright?"

Iruka smiled at the heavy weight that settled on the edge of his bed, not fighting it as his body instinctively moved closer to the Jounin. "I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"Better, then."

Kakashi had to concede that one, though he didn't want to imagine how the other man could be any worse than he had been before. "Tsunade told me you were suffering from some anxiety. Of course, according to her, so am I. I thought I'd come see what I could do to help."

In truth, all he had to do was be there and Iruka felt more relaxed then he had for the forty-eight hours he'd been in Konoha, but he wasn't about to tell Kakashi that.

"I'm fine, Kakashi, really."

"Good. You promised me a story."

"I did?"

"Yes. You said you would tell me when we were safe."

Iruka closed his eyes as Kakashi's cool hand came to rest against the side of his face, his skin tingling where ever he touched. It made it difficult to remember what he'd promised to tell, but he could vaguely recall that it was his past.

His breath hitched as Kakashi's thumb brushed his lips, but whether it was that touch or the realization of all his promise included, Iruka could not say.

He swallowed and opened his eyes to the darkness. He could make out the other man's silhouette in the half-moon light. How could he expect Kakashi to trust him if he wasn't willing to give that trust first? He had been silly to think he could help Kakashi without revealing his own past. "Ask me any question, and I will answer."

Kakashi nodded, dropping his hand from Iruka's face. "Any question?"

"Any question."

"How did you become Orochimaru's student?"

'Well, that was straight forward,' Iruka thought darkly. "The same way everyone becomes a Jounin's student. The Hokage assigned us to him and we passed the test."

"What was his test?"

Iruka smiled in the dark, though it was more a sad sort of smile that made his eyes glitter. "He has us fight one of his snakes."

Kakashi drew in his breath sharply. He had seen the size of some of those summons. At least his bell test didn't result in his student's near deaths!

"It wasn't his biggest one," Iruka assured Kakashi's unspoken worries. "It was one of the smaller ones. He had us fight it as a team. Hayate did the most with his sword, though he was lacking in technique at that point. Anko did a good job too. She was powerful, but she always has been uncontrollable raw power."

"And you?" Kakashi whispered, determined to get his curiosity satisfied while he could.

"I just lost my temper. I was scared, and hurting. My parents had only been dead for six months, and I wanted so badly to be noticed."

"Back up," Kakashi held his hands up in a 'T' though Iruka could not see them. "You said you didn't enter the Academy until after. You graduated in six months?"

"Oh," and here Iruka smiled genuinely, "not after they died. After we came to Konoha."

Kakashi blinked a couple of times, but could still not come up with a more intelligent answer than, "huh?"

"We didn't come to Konoha until I was eight-years-old. I entered the Academy when I was nine."

"Where were you before?"

"Mist. My parents were Mist Jounin, and I was born and raised there."

'That explains why he looks different from almost everyone else,' Kakashi thought with a slight frown. "You were driven out of Mist, I'm guessing."

"Yes."

"You have a blood limit?"

"No. My parents refused to kill the innocent women and children who had not used their abilities to hurt others. We had to run, and came to Konoha because we have family here."

"Family?"

Iruka was sure his blush was causing his face to glow in the dark as he stared fixedly at where his knees would be. "We…I…am distantly related to the first and second Hokages. My father was the grandson of their sister, actually."

"So…" and here Kakashi blinked several times more, "that makes you…"

"Nothing much. Their great-grandnephew I suppose."

"You look like the first," Kakashi said, realizing it was true even as he said it.

"My father did too."

"So, when you were expelled from your home, you cam here because you could claim relation to the Hokages?"

"Yeah. Sandaime was willing to give us protection, though we were under constant watch and weren't allowed to do much. It wasn't until a year later that my parents uncovered a plot to assassinate the Hokage, and they were made honorary Konoha shinobi. I was allowed to enter the Academy then, though I had to beg them to let me."

Kakashi nodded, fascinated by the story. "They died before you graduated."

"And, being who I was, Sandaime kept a close eye on me. Though he'd already chosen to retake his place as Hokage instead of pick a new successor, at the time he still believed Orochimaru was a good shinobi. I think he assigned us to him as a chance to prove that the rumors circulating about him were untrue."

"That failed," Kakashi stated, then winced. He hadn't meant for it to sound so blunt.

"Yes, it did. He encouraged us to follow him, to rely only on ourselves and no one else. To give in to bloodlust and hate. Because of my relation to the Hokages, he took a special interest in me. I quickly became his favorite student, mostly due to my terrible temper."

Kakashi sat in silence for a long time, trying to get his head around this idea of Iruka. He couldn't, really. Sure, he'd seen the other man lose his temper before on several occasions, but he wasn't like Anko. He didn't both love and hate the man who had been his sensei. "What happened?"

"I never really accepted Orochimaru's teachings well. It was so different from what my parents had taught me my whole life. To never kill if I didn't have to. To protect the weak, not use them to get stronger. I never could really do what he said because the loss of my parents was still too fresh to forget them. But I didn't do anything about it for a very long time. Not for a year, until the disaster that was my chuunin exam."

"Disaster?" Kakashi frowned at him through the darkness. "Is that why you fought my nomination of my team?"

"In part."

"Why?"

A very long silence from Iruka. Kakashi nearly took his question back out of guilt. He really was being terribly nosy, just like the people he hated hounding him. Only now did he realize he was prying into places he wasn't necessarily welcome. But Iruka had said any question…

"It doesn't happen very often," Iruka whispered, "but due to the random way they call the names, teammates can fight each other in the exam. I almost think it was destiny for me to fight my best friend, coming from Mist. When the names came up, my opponent was Hayate.

Hayate really was better than me, in most ways. He was certainly more skilled at close combat than I was. I had better stamina, though, and better planning skills.

The fight was harsh, and used all my skills just like it is intended to. I…I didn't want to lose. Hayate nearly beat me, and I…I lost control. I don't remember exactly what happened. I rarely do when I truly lose it. I do know that I was faster, and could see things clearer when I was so focused on winning. I remember coming to myself to find…to find my kunai through Hayate's chest."

Kakashi nearly choked. It was obvious that hurt was still fresh for the chuunin. Even though Hayate was now dead and gone, his regret was almost palpable in the air.

"My kunai pierced his lung, and was responsible for that cough he had. Sen…Orochimaru…was so proud of me when Sandaime made me a chuunin. I never felt worse. It was about a week later when I told Sarutobi-sama everything. I told him about the experiments and what he was teaching us. Just…everything."

"You knew about those?" It explained a lot, really, when Kakashi thought about it. Like why Iruka would have remained to watch Sasuke's first match in the Chuunin exams, but not Naruto's.

"Not in great detail, but I knew what and- more importantly- where."

"Which has something to do with you being appointed to the Academy."

"How did you know that?"

"You told me, at one point."

Iruka made a mental note not to leave the village when deathly ill for his own safety. "When Orochimaru escaped with Anko, Hayate and I were sent to try and get her back. It was…a hard battle."

He wasn't telling him something here, but Kakashi decided this time not to ask. It wasn't important to know all the little details.

"When were done, Orochimaru wanted me to come with him. We barely escaped. When we got back, Sarutobi wanted to keep an eye on us. On me especially, because I would be in great danger if Orochimaru ever found out that I was the one that turned him in. That I had betrayed my sensei. It's part of the reason that the evacuation drill was set up the way it was, to keep Anko, Hayate, and I as far away from our sensei as possible.

Sarutobi assigned me to be a student teacher at the Academy. After three years, I learned that I loved it."

"That's why you've chosen to stay there."

Iruka nodded, sighing sleepily as he lay back down on the pillows. "And that's my life story in a nut shell."

Kakashi stood to kneel down by the bed by Iruka's side. "Just one more question, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka opened his eyes slowly, "okay, what?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

The silence that followed was long and awkward; Kakashi had to fight the urge to fidget. It may have been an inappropriate question, but he had to know.

"I'm not sure when it happened," Iruka finally whispered, "but at some point not kissing you became something in my life I would regret if I were to die, and I thought I was."

"Not kissing me?"

"Don't ask me when or why…I don't really understand it myself…"

Kakashi watched the chuunin close his eyes, and his chest rise and fall in a deep breath. For some reason he wasn't sure he wanted to hear what the chuunin was going to say next, and the Jounin started backing towards the door.

"But Kakashi, at some point during this adventure, I think I've fallen in love with you."

The Copy Ninja froze, even stopping his breathing. He didn't know what to think, what to feel, about that. Iruka had just said he loved him. Not just that he cared for him, but honest-to-goodness loved him.

Emotions flickered through him, so fast he didn't have time to process them all. Fear, wonder, excitement, dread, and more emotions that he was sure didn't have names at all. He couldn't breathe, and while he was standing there he couldn't think. He needed to think. Needed to make all the swirling inside, where he couldn't tell where one emotion ended and the next began, stop.

"Kakashi?"

He couldn't respond. He knew he was supposed to respond, but how he couldn't even guess. His mind was spiraling too fast.

"Kakashi, say something. It was unfair of me to spring that on you like that but…"

"I don't know that I don't love you," Kakashi finally managed to choke out before opening the door and leaving Iruka behind on the bed, staring at the ceiling as if it could tell him what that meant.


	23. Part 3: Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter. I felt like it was very poor writing on my part. Oh well. 'Lost With You', which is my next project, will be better. It'll give me a chance to refine my plot techniques, I hope. This chapter is almost the opposite of the last one with mostly introspection. I've had the last scene here written since the beginning though. It was my whole reason for creating this story, actually.

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**__Part III: Chapter 3_

Distance was not, apparently, the key to figuring out how he felt. He had not spoken to Iruka since that night a week ago, only allowing himself a couple of minutes every twelve hours to go check on the slowly recovering chuunin, and he was no closer to deciding if what he felt was love or not.

He knew that he cared for Iruka as more than a regular teammate, or even really a friend. Nothing in the world right now was more important to him than that Iruka be safe and happy?

But was that love? He wasn't sure.

Rin had said she loved him. That was why she'd left like she had. She couldn't stand to stay in a place that was slowly destroying him because she loved him.

Even when he, in full ANBU attire, had been sent to kill her for abandoning the village, she had professed to love him.

And even when he had stabbed her with his katana, he'd felt regret for the loss of his last close friend- nothing more.

He'd tried to tell Rin as the life left her eyes that he didn't think he was capable of loving anyone. He was broken in so many places that there wasn't enough of him left to give to anyone.

But Iruka…if anyone was as broken as he was, it would be Iruka. Just like Kakashi himself, the chuunin had been betrayed and abandoned his whole life. He knew what it was to be truly alone, and yet he could still love. Still loved and wanted to help Kakashi.

How could you tell if you really loved someone?

You couldn't promise that you'd never leave them. Everyone died, someday. That's just how life, and ninja life in particular, was.

You couldn't promise you'd never hurt them. When you died, or if you were ordered to betray them as a lover because that's what the mission took…it all hurt. There was no guard against hurt in a shinobi's life.

You couldn't say you'd do anything they asked. Being loyal to the village had to come before everything else, including your lover.

You couldn't say that you cared about them more than your own safety. Any shinobi worth anything would put the life of a comrade before their own, no matter whether they loved them or not.

And even if he never wanted to leave Iruka's side, never wanted to hurt him again or watch him suffer. Even though he would do almost anything the chuunin asked him, and would die to save him if he could, it didn't prove anything.

Was he just asking the wrong questions? He was starting to think maybe he did love Iruka, if even a little bit. The chuunin had done more for him than anyone had in a long time. Iruka was safety, was home, for Kakashi, and whether that was a result of the ordeal they had been through or whether it had begun to happen even before that he couldn't really say for sure.

"You're looking down this morning." Tsunade's voice interrupted his thoughts, startling him even though he didn't show it.

"Maa, it's the weather," he said easily, allowing his gaze to slide from the ceiling to the fifth Hokage currently standing in his doorway. "It's got everyone down."

Tsunade strode over to his bed, hazel eyes checking his body automatically for any injury. "Looks like your midnight visits have done you no harm, and your chakra is almost back to a normal level."

"Well, that's good isn't it?"

"Depends. I have no further reason to keep you, Kakashi, and I can't justify to the council not sending you out a mission anymore. You can function normally. So, in a way, it's good…"

"Long story short, I'm healthy so now it's time to go back to work."

"I'm afraid it is. I wouldn't send you but," Tsunade reached in to her coat and removed a scroll, "but the Raikage wants one of you there as he tries those involved. I told him they were masked, so you couldn't make a positive ID, but he's willing to pay good money that we need to rebuild, and I'm out of excuses for the council for you."

Kakashi frowned at the scroll before sighing wearily and taking it. "I understand, Hokage-sama. I'll be on my way within an hour."

"Best of luck, shinobi of Konoha. With any luck, this will be a simple mission."

"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, if I had any luck I wouldn't have been here in the first place."

In Iruka's room, Sakura sighed as she picked up the scissors from off the bedside table. Her keen emerald eyes caught Iruka's hands tensing slightly on his thigh, but he managed to relax it an instant later. The young Kunoichi smiled. Her former sensei was getting better.

The placed her fingers in his hair gently, moving slowly to give him time to relax and adjust himself. "Are you sure you want to go through with this, Iruka-sensei? Your hair is so pretty, I hate to cut it off."

Iruka laughed softly to himself. "Ignoring the fact that most men don't like their hair called pretty, yes I'm sure. Those knots at the end are never going to come out, I'm afraid. Besides, it's getting a little long. You're not cutting off much, just an inch or two."

Sakura nodded, measured a length with her fingers. "Last chance to change your mind, Iruka-sensei."

"I really am sure, Sakura-chan. Just get it over with."

Snip. The first lock of hair fell the floor of the hospital bathroom.

"Feels better already," Iruka grinned at Sakura through the reflection in the mirror. The pink haired genin smiled back at him gently.

"I just hope I don't cut too much. I want to leave it long enough you can still pull it back."

Snip. "I appreciate the consideration. How are your studies going?"

"Tsunade-sama says that I'm a very quick study. She's going to let me take the chuunin exam as part of a team with Ino and Chouji next time."

"Oh? You'll be able to get along with Ino that long?"

"I think we'll manage, Iruka-sensei." Snip.

"Yes, I'm sure you will. Do you take care of patients here in the hospital?"

"Sometimes Tsunade-sama allows me to help her. I'm not ready for patients of my own yet."

"I'm sure it won't take you very long." Snip. "Well, since you're in the know, would you mind telling me how Kakashi-sensei is?"

Snip. "What would make you assume that I know, Iruka-sensei?"

"Because, despite what you and Naruto may have said, you really were fond of your sensei."

Sakura looked up to smile at him with the mirror. "Perceptive as always, Iruka-sensei."

'Not always,' Iruka sighed to himself. 'If I really had been all the perceptive, I wouldn't have scared Kakashi off by saying what I did. I thought he was ready to hear it…'

And yet, he didn't regret saying it. It felt good to have said it aloud. It made what he felt seem more real.

Besides, he couldn't have scared Kakashi too badly. The Jounin had still come to check on him every night, standing by his bed and watching him for a moment while Iruka feigned sleep. He kept waiting for Kakashi to say something, but he never had.

Snip. "He's doing alright, Iruka-sensei. He seems a bit distracted, but otherwise he's healthy."

She fluffed his hair slightly, pulling over his shoulder to show him. "Is that length good, Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan, it's perfect. Thank you."

"No problem at all, Iruka-sensei," Sakura smiled as she put the clippers back down and grabbed a comb, going through Iruka's locks to get rid of the stray hairs. "Kakashi-sensei is doing so well in fact that Tsunade-sama has to send him out on another mission. I don't think he should leave so soon, but she says it's necessary. He should be on his way about now."

Iruka froze at her words, his heart jumping up in to his throat. Kakashi was leaving on a mission. He was leaving and hadn't even bothered to come say good-bye.

'He could die,' Iruka's mind panicked. 'He could die and I'd never get a chance to tell him good-bye!'

Sakura let out a startled cry as Iruka jumped up and raced out the door, dressed only a loose fitting pair of uniform pants. She rushed to the hallway, but only saw a flash of brown disappearing around the corner. She groaned and raced the other direction. "Tsunade-sama!"

Kakashi walked through the rain toward the gates of the city, his sandals making slight impressions in the soft mud. He wasn't thrilled about leaving on this mission. It wasn't fair, but it was the life of a ninja. The life he'd been born in to. He couldn't change it. Physically, he was fine, and the mental scars could wait. They always had before when the village needed him. This time was no different.

Behind him, Kakashi heard the sound of ragged breathing and fee splashing through puddles. He didn't turn around when they got close, even though it took a great deal of self-restraint. It was probably someone in a hurry to get out of the rain, or a new chuunin late for their watch.

He froze when bare arms slid under his and around his chest. The body pressed so close to his own, each place it touched, each curve, was familiar one. He closed his eye wearily.

"You should be resting, Iruka-sensei."

The arms around him tightened slightly. Iruka's head came to rest softly against the back of his own, just below the knot of his forehead protector. Kakashi could feel the chuunin's warm, shaky breath through the cloth of his turtleneck. It gave him goose bumps as it dried.

"Wait….'Kashi…please wait…"

Something wet, but warmer than the rain, landed on his neck, and the Jounin blinked. Was Iruka crying?

"Don't. Don't go without at least…saying good-bye. Without promising you'll come back safe…"

"I can't promise that," Kakashi said, looking down.

"You can promise you'll try," Iruka's hands shifted up slightly to rest on the Jounin's chest, holding him almost protectively against him. "I don't know how you feel about me, but I love you. No matter what, I want you to come back safe. It doesn't have to be to me. Just come back."

Kakashi turned around so he was facing the smaller man. Iruka was soaking wet, brown hair hanging loose and stringy around his tear-stained face. The bandages on his upper arm and torso were soaked, making them translucent and revealing the still healing wounds beneath. Wounds he'd gotten because of him…

Iruka shivered slightly, and Kakashi pulled him close.

"You're going to get yourself sick again."

Earned brown eyes looked up at him, their gaze asking him a thousand questions, or maybe reflecting his own questions back at him. Why do you care? Do you love me? Will you come back? To me? At all?

He didn't know any of the answers. He didn't even know where to begin to look for them.

"Iruka…I don't know…I've forgotten how, I…."

He couldn't finish the thought, not sure how to explain that he'd forgotten how to love someone long ago. He found he didn't need to as gentle hands reached up and tugged down on his mask.

Kakashi immediately wanted to pull it up again, but Iruka's hands held it down. He realized he was being silly, there was nothing left for him to hide from Iruka, and stopped trying.

A soft hand on the side of his face the moment he relaxed, pulling him down slightly to close the inch difference in their height as Iruka's lips met his again.

This time, they were soft on his, afraid and questioning. When Kakashi didn't pull away, they became bolder. The kiss was more present, but remained gentle. Those lips did not demand, didn't even ask, that he return the action. They just promised that they would. For this reason, he would give what was longed for. Give it because it was not asked.

Kakashi closed his eye, placing his lips on Iruka's now. He could taste a little of the salt from Iruka's tears on them, and he was overcome by the feeling of wanting to kiss all that salt away so he would never have to taste it on Iruka again.

Iruka pulled away slowly, opening his eyes. The questions had vanished, all except for one. Will you try?

"I can teach you. If you would like to, I could teach you. Remind you."

The Copy-ninja didn't know what to say to that. Didn't know how to respond to the mixed excitement and terror of what Iruka was promising. At the fact that Iruka was willing to sit and wait while he stumbled blindly for feelings he never remembered having experienced before. What would he do if he could not feel them? He may not love Iruka (or did he?) but the last thing he wanted was to hurt him anymore.

Unable to come up with words, Kakashi instead reached down and pulled his dog tags out of his uniform. Carefully, he removed them and placed it gently in Iruka's hand, closing the fingers around it. "I'll be coming back for that."

Iruka smiled, holding his hand close, as Kakashi set off- quickly now. As the silver haired Jounin disappeared in to the mist, Iruka looked down at the tag in his hand, running his thumb almost reverently over the writing.

"Iruka! When I get my hands on you…"

He couldn't help but smile at Tsunade's obvious fury as he closed his hand tightly around the warm metal once again, trapping Kakashi's warmth with it, as his other hand gently brushed his lips with his finger tips. He would wait for Kakashi, however long it took.


	24. Part 3: Chapter 4

**A/N:** Just need to address two things quickly. No, Pieces isn't over just yet (apparently as I'm updating). I'm aiming to get 10 parts in this one too, but if I manage to get 7 I'll be happy. So expect at least 3 more updates after this one, which is more or less an interlude chapter. Um…yay?

Also, yes there is a sort of time-line to my Pieces Universe one-shots, and they go as follows:

All The Broken Pieces  
1:47 in the Morning  
Holding Fast  
Can, Can't, and Won't  
Snow Day  
Strength

Everybody got it? Good.

_**All The Broken Pieces**_

_Part III: Chapter 4_

Three weeks. The stupid mission was taking a total of three whole weeks. A week to get there, and then solid week of trials were he had been forced to tell what he and Iruka had gone through over and over again until it no longer felt like it had happened to him but someone else's story entirely.

Another week of traveling home.

Kakashi paused under a tree, squatting down on the branch. Not many of them had denied what they'd done, and only a handful had seemed proud of it.

Worst had been the torture specialist, apparently caught by the ANBU who had original captured Iruka and himself in the first place. He hadn't seemed apologetic for what had happened at all. He'd even spat at Kakashi's feet, which would have been insulting, but the Copy-ninja just couldn't bring himself to feel that way.

There was a great deal of politics he didn't understand fully about the situation, but he had enough to explain to Tsunade.

Apparently, ANBU-man- whose name, Kakashi had learned, was Hiroshi- had never intended for things to progress so far. He had wanted to start a war they could with to jump start the village that was suffering from too many idle ninja.

Ironically enough, that was not longer a problem as so many of them were now in prison with still more guarding them.

When Hiroshi had been called away on successive high ranked missions, his right hand man had become to ambitious, with ideas of becoming the Raikage, allying with sound, and taking over the other villages going through his head.

Hiroshi had been the ANBU Neji had seen tense up, and when he heard that Konoha was after them he'd warned his companions. When Tsunade's report had come of the extend of what had been done to her ninja, Hiroshi was disgusted. He had never meant for things to become like they had, and gone to find his right hand man himself just moments before his name had come up in the interrogation of one of the captured ninja. He had turned himself and his torture specialist in upon his return.

Much to Kakashi's surprise, Hiroshi made a point of apologizing to him and asking how his companion was. Kakashi had been angry about that at first. It didn't make anything better, and he felt the bastard had no right to speak of Iruka at all. Now, exhausted and emotionally drained, he found it hard to hate someone who seemed so genuinely sorry for bad choices made for the right reasons.

When he'd said Iruka was still in the hospital at the time he'd left, Hiroshi had seemed sincerely upset. He wished Kakashi to convey the message of his apologies to his chuunin.

His chuunin…when Hiroshi had said called Iruka Kakashi's own it had shocked him. He'd found himself asking why, and Hiroshi had given him an account of what went on in the cell as the guards who'd heard it told him.

"You must love him very much, to try so hard to save him," Hiroshi had said.

"I do," Kakashi had responded without thinking.

It had been that simple. The only question that had to be asked was the one he'd never asked for himself. The one that it seemed would not solve anything. He'd just had to ask himself if he loved Iruka, and not think or justify as the response came instantly to his mind.

He knew without knowing it.

Now, the problem was whether or not Iruka really loved him. It was a complication Kakashi had come to realize as he traveled home. How much of the real him did Iruka know? If he saw just what everyone else did, then this wasn't going to work. But if Iruka could see him…take off the other masks just like he did the physical one…then maybe….

Kakashi sighed as he waved to the guards as he passed through the gate. He had to find out, and he only knew one way to do it.

Iruka leaned wearily against his desk as he watched the last of his students run out of the classroom, waving behind him. His third day back teaching and he was beginning to wonder how he'd done this so long without a vacation before.

True, back then he'd been able to turn his back on his students instead of having to come up with new ways for them to take notes. And true, before he hadn't spent so much of his energy in a state of constant tension. That would fade in time, though, he was sure. It would never go back to exactly what it was before, because he had changed, but he could adapt.

Unconsciously, Iruka's hand rose to untuck the chain that was hanging around his neck from his vest. His hand clasped around the dog tags at the end, and he closed his eyes.

Kakashi…Where was he right now? Was he alright? Was he warm enough? Did he miss him? Did he…

"Don't go there, Iruka," he whispered to himself. "You can't get your hopes up. If he doesn't love you then he doesn't, and you'll have to learn to live with that too."

A warning knock on his door, and Iruka's eyes snapped open. He reached automatically for his weapon's holster, and momentarily panicked when he found it wasn't there before he remembered Tsunade had said she wasn't going to let him have weapons just yet in case he reacted like that. Now, he was glad she had.

Iruka raised his head to see who was standing in the door and smiled at Shikamaru. The boy had been assigned to be his assistant for the next month or so. He knew that, really, the younger chuunin's function was his babysitter, but he couldn't find it in him to be resentful about it. He was glad Tsunade was doing her best to make sure that everyone came out of this whole thing alright.

"Here are the papers you asked for," the teenager sighed, handing them over. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you. I think I've got everything done for the day that I need. You've been a big help Shikamaru."

He waved it off, but Iruka could see the slight grin on his face from the praise. Shikamaru was smart, but this was so often over looked that he did like the praise when it came. Even when he pretended not to.

"You did much better today, Iruka-sensei," Shikamaru said as he gathered up the papers the kid's had left on the desks. "You didn't jump nearly as often."

"Just wait until they forget how much they missed me, and then we'll see how I really do."

Shikamaru gave an appreciative little chuckle before turning and straightening. He handed the papers to Iruka before turning towards the door. "I guess I'll just leave you two alone then."

"Two?"

"That would be best, thank you, Shikamaru," said a voice behind him. Iruka whirled, but more out of disbelief than fright. That voice could never frighten him.

Kakashi was sitting in the window of the classroom, arms folded across his chest. When he saw Iruka looking at him, he smiled. "Yo."

"You're back." Iruka's voice was almost a sigh of relief, and while Iruka didn't quite hug him you could see that he wanted to. Kakashi couldn't decide whether or not to be disappointed.

"Yep. For once, I had no complications. It was just time consuming."

Iruka nodded, truly grateful for that. He and Tsunade had had a serious argument when he'd found out where Kakashi had been sent, and that she'd sent him alone. He'd chosen to ignore the fact that he was in no condition to travel- never mind face them again.

"I'm really glad you're alright, Kakashi…sensei…"

Kakashi shook his head and stood up. "Don't try and back out now, Iruka. You can't tell a guy you love him and then revert back to an honorific before he's turned you down."

Iruka blushed terribly, looking down at the ground by Kakashi's feet instead of his masked face. He wanted to say something. Let the Jounin know how much he'd missed him. How he'd thought about him everyday, and spent so many sleepless nights wondering how he was and avoiding the nightmares where he never returned. He didn't know how.

Kakashi put a gentle hand on Iruka's face, lifting the chuunin's chin up, and smiled at him. "Hey, I told you I'd be back for my tags, didn't I?"

"Ah," Iruka stuttered, pulling away quickly but reluctantly from Kakashi's grasp. If he stayed that close any longer, he would have done something foolish. Iruka reached up and pulled the chain off almost reverently. He hadn't taken them off for more than five minutes since he'd received them, and his neck felt oddly light without them. "Here. You'll want these back."

Kakashi took the tags that were held out to him and put them back around his own neck. "Thanks for holding on to them for me."

"It was no problem." It had actually been reassuring, but he wasn't going to say that.

Kakashi studied the man before him for a moment before scratching the back of his head. "We have a lot to discuss, don't we?"

Iruka nodded slowly, closing his eyes and bracing himself for what he knew was going to hurt when finally said aloud. "Yes, we do."

"Well, how about you come over to my apartment for dinner tomorrow and we'll talk then?"

Iruka's eyes opened as they automatically widened in surprise, and he looked up at the Jounin. "You're apartment?"

Kakashi shifted slightly. "Is tomorrow not good for you?"

"No tomorrow's fine. It just sounds a lot like a…"

"I'll see you then," Kakashi grinned, turning and jumping out the window.

"Date," Iruka concluding, staring in confusion at the spot the Jounin had just left.


	25. Part 3: Chapter 5

**A/N:** Dear Readers- There is NOT going to be any sex in this story. Reggie is a very firm believer in that sex is a sacred thing that should be reserved for those you care about most, and so the boys won't be having sex in the confines of this story. Their relationship just won't have gotten that far yet. Sorry to disappoint you. –Reggie

A great deal of thanks for this chapter has to go to my "Everyday Asian" cookbook I picked up for two dollars. Yay! Any food here you don't know, go check Wiki.

Also…I had been going to call off the Pieces sequel for the longest time, but listening to some of my music today I got my inspiration for it back! So, now I'm really eager to finish this and get started on (the newly titled) 'Never Ending Dream'. The plan at the moment is to release part 1 of that on February 15th. Lets see if it works.

_**All the Broken Pieces**_

_Part III: Chapter 5_

Iruka looked down at the little slip of bright orange paper in hand for the fifth time. The note- scribbled on Icha Icha stationary- stared back at him. 'My apartment is on the top floor- 316- of the fourth building in the Jounin buildings. I'll be ready at 6. Come whenever you'd like'.

And, in case the paper used hadn't been enough of a clue for who had left the note on his desk during lunch, it was signed with a little henohenomoheji.

The chuunin looked from the note in his hand up at the door in front of him, catching sight of his reflection in the name plate on the door. He almost laughed at how nervous he looked.

"It's just Kakashi," Iruka muttered to himself, even though saying that out loud made his stomach do flips. "He's seen you at your very worst. At least this time you have a shirt on and you're clean."

He couldn't help but blush slightly at the memory. It hadn't been awkward at the time, but now it certainly didn't help him to feel any better. Instead, he reached in to his pocket and pulled out the silver watch Sarutobi had given him as a present for passing his teaching exams.

The cool metal was somehow reassuring, reminding him of the steady presence the Third Hokage had been. How the old man would have laughed if he'd seen all of this right now! Iruka flipped the lid open to reveal the face. 6:15, exactly like he'd planned.

One final deep breath before he raised a hand to knock on the door- he felt quite pleased that it wasn't trembling.

It was several long moments that probably weren't nearly as long as they felt to Iruka before Kakashi opened the door. The Jounin was wearing his mask, but had on a tank top of some sort- Iruka thought it looked like an ANBU tank top- instead of the standard uniform and tight fitting blue jeans.

He couldn't help but gape as Kakashi gave him a one eyed smile. "Right on time, Iruka."

"Of course," Iruka muttered, unable to stop the smile that was slowly creeping on to his face, "being late is your department, remember?"

"Is it really late if that's the time people actually expect me to show up?" Kakashi grinned as he stepped aside, wordlessly inviting Iruka inside. The chuunin took the offer, shutting the door behind him and taking off his sandals.

"That's a fair question. I suppose you can't really count that as late, can you?"

"No, I wouldn't think so."

Iruka stood and looked around Kakashi's apartment curiously. It was bigger than his own, or maybe just felt that way because the furniture had all been arranged to maximize the space. His book shelf- which, Iruka was pleased to note, only held about six volumes of Icha Icha and had mostly other useful looking books and scrolls- was even inlayed in the wall so it wouldn't take up more space than necessary.

There weren't any pictures on the wall, but Iruka wasn't surprised. He didn't have any either, partly because it was too painful a reminder and partly because he didn't want anyone trying to get close to him to have easy access to henge study material.

He heard Kakashi moving around in the kitchen and went to investigate. "Something smells good."

Indeed, it truly did. Kakashi's small apartment was filled with the smell of grilling fish, pork, and miso. To a person recently just off hospital food and used to eating only the simplest of dishes, it smelt divine.

"I sure hope so," Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "It's been a while since I've had a reason to practice the cooking skills my sensei taught me."

Iruka looked up from where he was looking at a plate of washed daikon with interest. "Yondaime taught you how to cook?"

Kakashi turned to look at him in surprise. "How did you know my sensei was Yondaime?"

Iruka blushed a bit, looking down at his feet. "When you called Anko a messed up cookie, you said you got it from your sensei. Before he was Yondaime, he once stopped by our house and called me a tough cookie. He's the only one I've ever heard say that phrase."

Kakashi smiled at him with his eye this time. "You have a good memory, don't you, Iruka?"

The chuunin smiled a bit, leaning back against the kitchen counter. "I had just entered the Academy at the time, and I was behind the other students my age. It meant so much to me that someone like the Yellow Flash- and even I knew who he was- would call me a tough anything."

Kakashi laughed outright at that, "and you know, he probably knew that too."

Iruka shook his head, pleased that Kakashi would tell him at least that much- even if indirectly. Iruka's own sensei was a painful subject, and he hoped that it was less so for Kakashi. Yondaime had truly been a great man.

"Can I help you finish up with anything, Kakashi?"

Kakashi paused in his fish grilling to look around. "You don't have to."

"I know."

"Alright then. Would you mind shredding those daikon for me?"

"Sure."

"The knife is in the third drawer to your left."

Iruka nodded, though Kakashi couldn't see him, and grabbed the knife as he was instructed. He began running it down the sides of the vegetable, peeling away one thin layer at a time.

There was silence for several long minutes until Kakashi turned off his stovetop with an audible click. "So, to pass the time while some of this finishes cooking, how about we play a game?"

"A game?" Iruka paused his shredding to glance over at the Jounin.

"Yeah. I heard Naruto and Sakura playing it once while we were on an overnight mission. It doesn't require much. It's called 'Two Truths and One Lie'. I'll say three things- two of which are true and one that is a lie. You're supposed to guess which is the lie. If you get it right, I'll do it again. If you guess wrong, you have to take a turn."

Iruka was staring, though Kakashi couldn't see him. "O-okay."

"Great," the Copy-Ninja grinned, going back to stirring whatever miso-smelling liquid he had in a bowl. "Okay, first off we have these three. My favorite colors are black and red. I have a pet plant named Mr. Ukki. My favorite food is miso soup with eggplant and smoked mackerel."

Iruka frowned down at his vegetables. He remembered from the day they'd left Konoha that he had made Kakashi's favorite food, so the last one was definitely true. The other two were giving him a bit more difficulty.

Kakashi didn't seem the type to have a plant, let alone name it, but it wouldn't really surprise the chuunin if he did. After all, he couldn't keep his nin-dogs around all the time and this apartment would get really lonely.

So, that left the colors. Red and black was what he would have expected from Kakashi judging from his clothing but…something felt off about it. Red and black were the colors of death and while a ninja dealt in death daily Kakashi seemed to hate it almost as much as Iruka himself did. Death had taken far too much from Kakashi for him to like it, of that Iruka was certain.

Besides, if he could judge from the limited décor, Kakashi had very different tastes then he was professing.

"You're lying about the colors. You're favorite colors are actually green and blue."

Iruka smiled to himself as he heard Kakashi stop turning, but didn't himself look to see if the Jounin was staring at him.

"How did you know that?"

"Besides the fact that your house is decorated in shades of blue and green?"

"Okay, that one was too easy."

Iruka could almost hear the pout in the Jounin's voice and had to stifle a chuckle. "Alright, what's the next one then?"

"I like to draw. I trained my own ninken from the time they were puppies. I killed my best friend."

Iruka didn't hesitate. "You didn't kill your friend. I'm sure of that much."

Kakashi's voice was barely a whisper, "and how are you so sure?"

"Because you still hurt so much. I've seen how much pain you're in. If you could do that to someone you obviously cared about you'd be just like…like _him_. And you're not. You're much more human than he ever was."

Silence stretched between the pair for a long time, neither of them moving to complete the tasks they had been doing before. Iruka wondered if he had said something wrong, but he didn't feel like he had. Kakashi was the one that had brought it up.

"I as good as killed him," the Jounin said quietly. "I was the Jounin. I should have been able to do more, but all I did that whole mission was get in the way. If I would have listened to him and to sensei, he wouldn't have died."

Iruka peeled another slice off the vegetable in his hand. "That's like saying we could have avoided being captured if you'd listened to me."

Kakashi winced, looking down at his hands resting on the counter. "That's true."

"That's nonsense," Iruka put down the knife before turning to stare at the back of the other man. "Do you really think we could have escaped? That they would have just let us go? Not when we were what they so badly wanted. Even if we had escaped, what then? It would have only reinforced their idea that Konoha would be a target they could easily over run- strengthened their resolve to attack. In the end, you had no choice, and even if you had- even after all we went through- it was the right one."

Kakashi turned to look at him then, his expression almost completely unreadable. "Why don't you hate me? I was the one that made the decision that got us caught in that nightmare. It nearly cost you your life. You're still hurting. Because I couldn't decide correctly."

"Didn't I just explain that?" Iruka folded his arms across his chest, frowning. "Besides that, weren't you the one that saved me? Weren't you the one who did everything you could to protect me? Who could have escaped if you'd left me behind? Who put his life on the line for someone he…" Iruka blushed, finally looking away. "For someone he called his precious person?"

Kakashi looked momentarily stunned. He had said that, hadn't he? And not just his precious person, but his most precious person. Which Iruka was, in so many ways. How had he forgotten that? "I didn't think you remembered."

"I thought it was a dream," Iruka confessed, looking up to meet the Jounin's gaze. "I was so out of it then, I wasn't sure. But I had to try."

Kakashi nodded, turning back to his food. "The correct answer was the ninken. I didn't train them. Not alone, anyway. My sensei helped me."

Iruka couldn't help but grin as he finished off the vegetables. "So, you like to draw then?"

"Yes."

"Can I see your sketchbook?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I said I liked to draw. I never said I was any good."

Iruka laughed at that, laying the knife down again. "Oh, come on. They can't be that bad."

"Oh, yes they are."

"I refuse to believe it."

"Suite yourself."

"Why don't you just show me and let me decide for myself?" Iruka winked at him as Kakashi glanced over his shoulder. "I've been told I'm a pretty good judge of things."

Kakashi blushed, bending down to remove the asparagus from the oven. Iruka focused very hard on everything but what he wanted to be looking at the moment.

Kakashi turned to face him again, finally pulling down his mask. Iruka couldn't help but smile at the half-grin the Copy-ninja was giving him. "How about we eat first. You can look afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll set the table."


	26. Part 3: Chapter 6

**A/N:** Enjoy the REALLY long chapter guys. I should split it, but I don't want to 'cause then I'll go over my planned 30 chapters and I don't want to. So, you get a long one instead.

Gah, I'm trying to write this one plus four more chapters, plus the first chapter of 'Never Ending Dream' in five days. This is a nightmare. A self created one, but still.

Again, if you don't recognize a food just look it up on Wiki.

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**__Part III: Chapter 6_

The evening was going a bit darker than Iruka had originally thought it would. When Kakashi had suggested a game, he hadn't expected things to get so serious. Little alarm bells in his head were telling him that he needed to look beyond the surface on this one.

Still…he was enjoying Kakashi's company. He couldn't believe just how much he'd missed the other man. He'd been the one constant in the chuunin's life for so long now, it had been hard to have him gone and almost a relief to have him back again.

He was afraid he was irrevocably attached to the Jounin, and Kakashi was just going to have to get used to it whether he liked it or not.

Iruka looked up from where he was setting the dishes on Kakashi's small table as the Copy-ninja put down a dish of green spear-like vegetables covered in a miso dressing. All of his previous thoughts vanished as he looked at them, and he couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.

"Are those…"

"Asparagus? Yep. Fresh from Mist country. I found them in the market this morning. Thought you might like them, since you grew up there and that's the only place I've ever seen them."

"I haven't had them since we left," Iruka confessed, and then suddenly frowned at the other man. "But they were a rare treat, even in Mist. They must have cost a small fortune. You shouldn't…"

"The merchant owed me a favor," Kakashi said dismissively. Iruka could tell from his tone that he was lying, but decided not to press the issue.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me until you've tasted them. I never cooked them alone before."

"I'm sure you did fine," Iruka smiled up at him softly before looking around at the other dishes spread out over the table. "Yakisoba…Yakizakana…you really went all out today, didn't you, Kakashi?"

The silver haired man grinned, looking boyishly cute with his face revealed as he did so, and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I sort of figured it had been a while since you'd had a decent meal."

"Longer than you think," Iruka smiled back. "I can't cook anything beyond the most basic of things. If it involves measuring anything, I'm in real trouble."

Kakashi laughed, sitting down and picking up his chopsticks. "I don't believe that for a moment."

"Believe what you want," Iruka muttered, mimicking the other man, "but I know the truth."

Kakashi just shook his head, "itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu."

With the first bite, Iruka marveled at the excellence of the food. Everything was flavored just as he thought it should be, and he was almost having difficulty keeping his asparagus pieces from squishing in his chopsticks.

He was so involved in his food that he nearly jumped when Kakashi spoke up. "So, I believe it was your turn in the game."

"Oh was it?" Iruka asked innocently after he managed to swallow his mouthful of noodles.

"Yes, I do believe it was."

"I didn't know we were still playing."

"You're stalling."

"Yes, I am." Iruka frowned, tapping his chin lightly with his chopsticks. "Alright, I've got one. My first kiss was Anko. My first kiss was Hayate. My first kiss was Mizuki."

"How on earth am I supposed to know that?"

"You aren't. That's the point of the game."

Kakashi muttered something under his breath that Iruka couldn't hear before sighing "Um…Mizuki."

"Nope," Iruka said cheerfully. "I never even kissed him. My first kiss was Anko."

"Anko?"

"Yeah. When we were kids, Anko had the biggest crush on me, while I didn't think I really liked anyone. I had other things to focus on. Well, anyway, at one point during one of our missions, she kissed me. Just sort of randomly before we were about to enter the village we were getting to. I just stared at her until she finally said 'for luck' and then kissed Hayate too. That just made it more awkward, so then- to make it less awkward she said- she made ME kiss Hayate too."

"THAT made it less awkward?"

"Not in the slightest," Iruka laughed. "Hayate and I couldn't look at each other for days afterwards."

Kakashi chuckled appreciatively, trying to imagine the dynamic that had to have caused in the team. "Did you ever have a crush on Hayate?"

Iruka shook his head. "He was too much like a brother to me, and Anko was my sister. She still is, and eventually I became her little brother too and the crush faded. It was much easier to operate that way anyway."

"Who did you have a crush on?"

"Oh no, I'm saving that in case I have another turn," Iruka winked across the table.

"You're no fun," Kakashi pouted.

"Sure I am."

"Uh-huh. Okay, my turn again I guess…Alright. I had a team before Team 7. I sometimes put other books inside Icha Icha slip covers and read those instead. I sucked my thumb as a child and didn't stop until age 8 when my sensei coated it in cod liver oil."

Iruka nearly chocked on the piece of fish he'd been eating. "You really sucked your thumb until you were 8?"

"That's up to you to decide."

"Oh, I already know the first one is false."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, trying and failing to seem uninterested. "And how did you know that one?"

Iruka blushed. It seemed so silly now, but then he'd never thought he'd actually fall in love with the man he'd asked Sandaime about so long ago. "When I found out Naruto was going to be your student, I just had to know what kind of person you were. I'd been alone so long…and now I finally had someone to really care about and who cared about me. I wanted to make sure I did it right, and that meant finding out what his Jounin-sensei was like. After my experience, I'm afraid I didn't have much of a trust for Jounin in general."

Kakashi nodded. That made sense.

"I asked Sandaime, and he handed me a book with your information in it- though heaven only knows why he had it, I don't think I'm THAT predictable. I saw it was blank and you'd never passed a team before."

"Yes, well, no one had passed my test before either."

Iruka just smiled at him, shaking his head. "I would never have forgiven you if you would have failed them."

"You just didn't want Naruto back."

"No, I knew then how to handle him. It was Sakura and Sasuke I would have gone crazy with. Anymore 'Oh Sasuke-kun is so cool' and I think my head would have exploded. And yet…"

"And yet you'd give anything to hear it again now, wouldn't you?"

Iruka nodded, knowing as he did so that Kakashi felt the same way. "Nothing Orochimaru could have promised him will be worth what that boy will have to go through- and all he'll get for it in the end is death in one form or another. I know that better than anybody. But I don't know what more I could have done. I did offer him my help, but unlike Naruto he didn't want it. You can't help someone who won't let you."

"Not unless you can do it without them realizing it," Kakashi said softly, and Iruka realized that he wasn't talking about Sasuke now and blushed.

They were in dark, dangerous territory again, so Iruka forced a subject change. "I won that round. It's your turn still."

"I don't think I want to play with you anymore."

"Tough luck, you still have one more. We can stop after that if you like."

"Alright, fine. Asuma and I were once babysat by Tsunade when we were two, and we both ended up drunk. Naruto's never beat me at video games the one time he convinced me to play. I failed my first chuunin exam."

"Oh you did not," Iruka said, staring at him. "There's no way you failed your first time."

"Oh yes I did." Kakashi said, grinning in triumph. "I graduated the academy when I was four, and my father wanted me to take it the year after. My sensei kept trying to tell him I wasn't ready, but he insisted. I don't really know why. I didn't manage to pass the first round, because I refused to work with the team I was assigned to for cheating. I was sure I could do it on my own. Obviously not."

Iruka didn't laugh, but it was a close thing. "So, the great Copy-ninja isn't perfect after all."

"Far from it. But I suppose you knew that already."

"Yes, I had a hunch." The chuunin put the last bite of his food in his mouth, looking at Kakashi thoughtfully. He swallowed that oddly penetrating look still on his face. It gave Kakashi the feeling that Iruka could see right through him to his very soul, and he couldn't help but wonder what he saw there. It couldn't have been too bad, because the other man smiled. "Still, you aren't as bad as you could be, are you?"

"I guess not…"

"So…which was the lie then? Tsunade didn't really get two-year-olds drunk, did she?"

"Oh, not on purpose. We locked her in a closet, and during the struggle she dropped the flask she used to always carry with her. Asuma and I were naturally curious, or so we guess. I don't really remember it."

"Wait, how did two toddlers get Tsunade in a closet? Or do I not want to know?"

"We were two genius toddlers, thank you, but you probably don't want to know."

"So then the lie is…"

"Naruto beat me. Once. The first time I played. I never had before and I couldn't justify using my sharingan to mimic his button moves. I had to figure it out alone. I did, but not fast enough to avoid losing once."

Iruka did laugh then; unable to stop it as he could just image the boy's excitement at having beaten his teacher at something. Kakashi scowled at him, but there was no malice in the look.

"Is it really that funny?"

"I'm just amazed that he played you again after that. I would have thought he'd want to keep the victory."

"Oh, I convinced him that I didn't believe he could do it again. Of course he was sure he could. I think he still thought he could after he'd beaten him seven more times."

"That's Naruto for you. Doesn't matter what the facts are, he'll believe what he wants." Iruka shook his head, smiling fondly at the memory of the boy who was like a little brother to him. He looked up and Kakashi and grinned. "The food was excellent, Kakashi. You'll have to try and teach me sometime. Anko gave me up as a hopeless cause. Think you can stand the challenge?"

"If Anko gave up on you? Probably. She has the attention span and patience of a gnat."

"Close to it," Iruka grinned, setting his chopsticks down. "Alright, now you promised I could see your sketchbook."

"Did I promise?" Kakashi said thoughtfully. "I really don't remember the words I promise coming out of my mouth." The Copy-ninja glanced across the table to see Iruka pouting at him, all dark endless brown eyes and wibbling lip. He knew right then that he was in trouble, because Iruka could have asked him for anything and he would have given it to him in an instant. "Alright, alright! Stop with the look, I'll go get it."

Iruka grinned impishly at him as he stood up. "The infamous puppy-dog pout strikes again."

Kakashi snorted, vanishing in to one of the back rooms, which Iruka assumed led to his bedroom. The chuunin stood up and shifted places over to the couch, wanting to look at the art in a more comfortable place. He had to admit, he was terribly curious about Kakashi's art and what he may have drawn.

When Kakashi returned, he had a think spiral bound book in his hands. It looked like just about the heaviest sketch book Iruka had ever seen. Kakashi sat next to him on the couch, setting the book securely in his lap, and looked over at the Chuunin.

"You have to promise not to laugh."

Iruka felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, and reflected that it really wasn't a fair thing to say as it made him want to do just that. "I'm sure it's not that bad, Kakashi."

"Promise me."

"Okay, okay, I promise. I won't laugh at your art."

Seemingly satisfied, Kakashi lifted the cover up, and then a light piece of almost tissue like paper. Underneath was what Iruka recognized immediately at the view of looking up at the Fourth Hokage's face on the mount and sunrise from almost the bottom of the cliff.

The strokes were a bit rough and uneven, as if the artist wasn't used to the pastel in his hand, but the colors and the composition were stunning. Iruka felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Kakashi…that's wonderful."

"Really?" Kakashi looked at him eagerly, and sounded so much like a little kid eager for praise that Iruka just had to smile softly.

"Yes, really. You're talented with this."

"I'm glad you think so. I've never shown anyone before."

Iruka smiled a bit and reached out his hands. "Can I?"

Reluctantly, Kakashi handed his precious art book over. Iruka took it almost reverently, and began flipping through the pages. All of the works were in a dry, chalky pastel, but the strokes and details got better page by page. Most of the pictures were landscapes, a couple of which Iruka recognized from Mist. Some were people, most of whom Iruka didn't know. There were several of a boy in orange goggles and a girl with red-brown hair. Yondaime also featured in several of them, but Iruka wasn't surprised.

Iruka's favorite of the first half the notebook was a picture of what looked like the boy in goggles having fallen asleep with a puppy Pakkun in his lap.

Towards the end of the nearly full book, there were a couple of Team Seven. These were rougher, and more smudged than the previous pictures. It almost looked like Kakashi had started to smudge them beyond recognition, but had changed his mind.

Did he really hurt that much over what had happened with his team? Iruka thought he did, but didn't question.

On the last page he was surprised to see a picture of himself staring back at him. It wasn't finished yet, but the scar was there and its distinctive mark made it unmistakable.

Iruka looked up to ask Kakashi about it, and found that the Jounin had fallen asleep with his head on Iruka's shoulder. Iruka held his breath, waiting for something to give away Kakashi's act. Nothing did. He had really and truly allowed himself to fall deeply asleep.

He wasn't stupid. Iruka was very aware what kind of trust that meant Kakashi had for him. In sleep he was his most vulnerable, and it wouldn't have been possible for him to drift off if he didn't trust the man by his side completely.

Smiling softly to himself, Iruka set the sketchbook down on the coffee table and ever so slowly, trying his best not to startled and wake the Jounin, moved so Kakashi could lay comfortably on the couch. Once that was accomplished, Iruka stood and went to go clear up the dinner dishes- justifying to himself that if Kakashi was that tired and had still invited him over the least he could do to thank him was do the dishes.

It was the sound of running water that woke the Copy-ninja up. He blinked, momentarily confused as to how he'd gotten to be laying down on the couch but sensing no danger so not immediately jumping to high alert. He wondered where his warm comfortable pillow had gotten to.

When his brain woke up enough for him to realize that Iruka had been the pillow he'd fallen asleep on during the hour Iruka had spent looking at his art, he couldn't help but blush. It wasn't that he'd been all that tired, but he'd felt so incredibly comfortable sitting with him like that. Content, like a cat in its favorite spot of sunshine.

There was no mistaking, no duplicating, that feeling. It had no name, really, that Kakashi knew of except maybe that feeling of being home. Iruka had passed his test with flying colors, seeing through his game of lies easily in almost every case. He saw through Kakashi's masks like glass, and didn't seem to mind what was on the other side a bit.

There was no reason to hesitate any longer. Iruka had more than proven his sincerity, even if Kakashi could never understand why someone like Iruka would love him. He had nothing to offer the chuunin but all the broken pieces of his heart and soul.

And maybe, just maybe, Iruka would know how to put them back together again since he'd apparently somehow managed to fix his own.

The Copy-ninja stood gracefully, walking into the kitchen. Iruka's back was to him as he rinsed off the dishes, seemingly engrossed in his task.

"You didn't have to do that you know."

Iruka didn't jump, and Kakashi smiled. "I know, but I wanted to. You've been so nice to me all evening. I figured I had to do something to thank you."

"You already do so much for me. More than enough." Kakashi reached over, grabbing Iruka's shoulder and whirling him around. The chuunin was obviously surprised, his brown eyes widening slightly as he realized their body position as Kakashi trapped him with his arms- one of Iruka's legs between the Jounin's own and their chests almost touching as Kakashi leaned forward.

"I have one more question for our game, Iruka. I'll even make it easy for you."

Iruka swallowed thickly and nodded, licking his lips slightly.

Kakashi leaned forward, capturing the chuunin's now moist lips gently. Iruka gasped softly, taken by surprise, but he was much quicker to respond than Kakashi had been. If his hands hadn't been on the counter to keep him from falling in the sink, Kakashi was sure the other's hands would have been tangled in his hair.

There was no confusion this time as to whether or not he was slightly disappointed by the lack of contact.

When they broke apart, just enough to get air but Kakashi could still feel Iruka's breath on his face, Kakashi had to wonder when it was his hands had moved from either side of Iruka to trap him against the counter to gently holding Iruka's back and pushing him closer.

Iruka, for his part, was slightly breathless with flush cheeks and slightly dilated eyes. He even had a look on his face that he couldn't quite believe that had just happened. The Copy-Ninja found it was really quite cute and attractive.

"I love you," Kakashi whispered. "Or I love you. Or I don't love. Which one is the lie?"

Instead of answering, Iruka pushed off the counter, this time wrapping his hands exactly were he wanted them in Kakashi's silver hair, and kissed him soundly again.


	27. Part 3: Chapter 7

**A/N:** Homework destroyed my plans of having this done by Valentine's Day. Still…nearly done! I can see the finish line. Yay!

**_All The Broken Pieces  
_**_Part III: Chapter 7_

Iruka was pulled, most reluctantly, from a very good dream about himself and Kakashi by a tapping on his window. With a small groan, Iruka peeked one eye open and looked at the clock glowing next to his night stand. The cheerily bright green numbers told him it was 4:30 in the morning.

Iruka groaned, pulling the blanket over his head and burying further in to his bed, wondering whose brilliant idea it was to have a 4:30 in the morning anyway. He was fairly certain such an ungodly hour was illegal.

The tapping on his window grew more insistent, instead of just disappearing like he hoped they would. The tapping turned to knocking and Iruka growled, finally giving in and sitting up to look. Crouched precariously on the window ledge was non-other than the person he'd previously been dreaming of.

As Iruka blinked at him stupidly, his sleepy-fuzzed brain still trying to process what he was seeing, the Copy-ninja smiled and waved at him. Iruka's body responded on its own accord, going and pushing the window open. Kakashi stepped gracefully inside, looking around quite contentedly, before plopping down on Iruka's bed. Somewhere under the sleep-fuzz in his brain, Iruka registered that this could get very awkward very quickly if Kakashi wanted it to, but he was still too out of it to care.

"Kakashi, what are you doing here?"

"Don't tell me you forgot, Iruka-kun!"

The chuunin could only blink slowly, wishing his brain would finally decide it was awake. "I forgot what?"

"We have training to do!"

More slow blinking, this time more from incomprehension than anything else. "But…the time limit is way more than up."

"Tsunade said time spent on the mission doesn't count, and Asuma agreed to a small extension. I have three weeks to keep training you."

Iruka looked dumbly at his clock, which now read 4:40. "But…it's early."

"Is it?"

"Yes. Very early. On a Saturday. Even if I had known we were going to be training today- which I didn't- I wouldn't have expected to see you until noon."

"What I plan to teach you today is going to take some time, and I'd like to take you out to dinner today. So, if we want to get done before all the restaurants close we need to get going."

Iruka blushed, walking on autopilot over to his dresser and beginning to dig out some clothes. "You mean you don't always make up what we're going to do as we go?"

"Ha, aren't you cute," Kakashi grumbled, pulling Icha Icha Violence out of its pouch. Iruka remembered Kakashi telling him about how he put other books in the Icha Icha covers as he took off his shirt and smiled. It certainly helped him keep up his image of being untouchable.

It wasn't until Iruka had his pajama pants untied that his brain woke up enough to realize that he was in the process of stripping. Not just stripping, but stripping with an audience. A very attentive audience that was peering at him over the top of his book.

It may have been possible to fry an egg on Iruka's neck right then as he looked up at Kakashi darkly, as all the blood rushed up to the top of his body. "Do you mind?"

"Not in the slightest," Kakashi grinned cheekily, closing his book and putting it on his lap. "In fact, if you want to continue I'm quite certain I wouldn't mind that at all either. In fact, I would even strongly encourage it."

Iruka grabbed the nearest thing he could, which happened to be one of his slippers, and threw it at the Jounin's head. Kakashi easily used his book as a shield, watching the projectile bounce harmlessly to the floor. "It would seem you do, though, Iruka-kun?"

"I'm not putting on a show for you," Iruka said, grabbing his clothes and stalking out of his room to the bathroom as Kakashi started laughing.

Kakashi continued chuckling to himself, laying back and making himself quite comfortable on the Iruka-smelling bed, as he heard the sound of the shower being turned on. Though Iruka had initiated the relationship, he insisted that they take things slow, and while Kakashi actually agreed teasing him about it was just too much fun.

Especially when the chuunin reacted like that.

Kakashi stretched lazily on the bed, taking a deep breath as he rested his head on the still warm pillow. He smiled to himself, getting a better look around this time than he had when he was in here previously, also, he remembered, to wake a sleeping Iruka.

There was very little by way of personal affects in the room. Just the standard blue bedspread and blank walls, except for three pictures on the nightstand by his alarm clock. Kakashi looked at the pictures lazily, smiling a little to himself at what he saw.

The first one was Iruka, Anko, and Hayate with Sandaime just after they had graduated. All three of them looked excited, but Iruka especially looked ready to run off any moment and begin his life. It was almost sad, Kakashi reflected, how much those three had to suffer so soon after that. But, it had not destroyed them. He was sure he'd seen those same looks on all three of their faces at one point or another.

The next picture was the same one he had of Team seven, only it had a small note tucked securely in the frame. Kakashi picked it up, recognizing Naruto's untidy, loopy scrawl.

'Iruka-sensei,' it read. 'Can you watch this until I get back? I wouldn't want it to get dusty and faded while I'm gone. And this way, you can't forget my handsome face! Thanks a bunch. Naruto.'

Kakashi shook his head and smiled a little. In reality, the only reason Naruto would leave the picture with Iruka was because he knew it would bring Iruka some small measure of comfort to have a picture of his favorite student while he was away. Not that he would ever say that, of course, but that boy knew more than he let you think he did.

The Jounin replaced the picture and picked up the last one, surprised to see a picture of himself. He was leaning against a tree, Icha Icha in hand, and apparently paying no attention to the photographer at all. It wasn't his best picture, but it had a natural feeling to it that most other pictures of Kakashi didn't, and he found he rather liked it. Even if he had no idea where Iruka had gotten it.

He heard the shower turn off, and quickly replaced the picture just as he'd found it. He picked up his book and read, thinking about how Iruka's bed was not really that comfortable, until the Chuunin returned- fully dressed and hair tied back even if it was still dripping wet.

Iruka frowned a little as he grabbed his vest and leg wraps. "Your shoes are on my bed."

"They're clean shoes."

"They're still on my bed."

Kakashi sat up, putting his sandaled feet back on the ground. "Better?"

"Not really. Why couldn't you use the door like everyone else?"

"I knocked on the door until your neighbor stuck her head out and asked me to stop. I don't think you can hear it from here."

Iruka blushed again, finishing tying on his leg wrap. "Alright, that's fair. You said we had a lot to do today?"

"Yep," Kakashi smiled brightly, getting to his feet. The two of them grabbed a quick breakfast from Iruka's kitchen and set out. Iruka was surprised when Kakashi lead him to the top of the Hokage monument and then some ways further to a more secluded cliff edge, with nothing around but a lot of large rocks.

Iruka picked up one of the stones, testing its weight in his hand. Even one small enough to fit in his hand was dense and heavy. "Kakashi, what are we doing? To drag me all the way out here…it has to be something fairly dangerous."

Kakashi nodded, taking his place at the exact fighting distance from Iruka. "I've put a lot of thought in to this, and I've decided that what you need most of all is a powerful offensive move. But, before we begin, I want you to promise me something."

"Alright. What?"

"That you will only ever use this move to protect everything that is precious to you. It's a dangerous move at the best of times, but for you especially."

Iruka considered this for a moment before his eyes widened. "You're going to teach me chidori."

It wasn't a question, but Kakashi nodded anyway. "It's my best move- one of my most powerful. You have the chakra, and I can teach you the speed for it. But it's an incomplete jutsu without a sharingan. It will give you tunnel vision, and you won't be able to see your opponents counter moves. But, suppose you were fighting with a Nara who could hold them in place? It wouldn't matter so much." Kakashi stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to look casual. Iruka knew better. When Kakashi looked his most relaxed was when he was actually the most on edge. "I want to know you have moves to protect yourself with that aren't going to result in your immediate death."

Iruka laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "That's fair, I suppose."

"So, do you…I sound like Guy," Kakashi muttered, and Iruka laughed again. "Do you promise me that you'll only use it when you have no other choice?"

The younger man nodded, smiling a little to himself. Unlike the last student Kakashi had taught chidori to, Iruka swore he would not let Kakashi down. "I promise."

Kakashi shot him a one-eyed grin, and pulled out some chakra thread. "Great. Trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"Then hold still." Kakashi lunged at him so fast that Iruka almost couldn't see him. It took a great deal of Iruka's self restraint not to pull away as Kakashi looped the thread around one of his ankles and tied it securely. Much to Iruka's surprise, the Jounin tied the other end around one of the nearby rocks that was roughly the size of Iruka's head. The same thing was done to Iruka's other foot, securely weighing him down.

"Kakashi, what are you…"

"Now, run." The Jounin ordered happily, sitting on one of the stones and pulling out his reading material.

Iruka shot him a disbelieving look. "With these?"

"Yep! I may have teased Guy about using weights to increase his student's speed but it is effective. I want you to run until **_I'm_** tired, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka growled, knowing Kakashi was deliberately using his own teaching line against him. "And you're just going to sit there while I run circles around this cliff top."

"That is the plan, yes."

"You just love to piss me off, don't you?"

"Well, you're cute when you're mad."

Iruka couldn't come up with anything to say to that and deflated as his anger left him. "It's too early for this. Really."

"Come on, you said you trusted me."

"Don't use my words against me, its mean." The chuunin took a deep breath and attempted to start of running. The rocks didn't budge and he fell flat on his face.

'It's going to be a long day,' Iruka thought darkly as he listened to Kakashi start laughing nearby.


	28. Part 3: Chapter 8

**A/N:** I just realized that the chapter after the next one is the last one. Then I can change the status from in-progress to complete. That's so cool! My new goal is to have this finished by my birthday (April 1). Think I can do it? ...I don't…

And Asuma's not really a jerk. I actually love him. He's just…clueless…and lazy.

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**__Part III: Chapter 8_

Iruka collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees. His legs felt like jelly and it had been a long time since he'd had this much trouble breathing. He'd long ago stripped off his shirt, and he wanted nothing more than to collapse on to the rocky ground and let the starting to sink sun soak his sweat off the rocks around him.

He leaned against the rock Kakashi was sitting on, watching his sweat drip off his nose idly. It made a pattern of interesting dark spots against the grainy rock.

Kakashi peered over the book at him, somehow managing to look an odd mix between concerned and amused with just the quarter of his face that was showing. "But Iruka, I'm not tired yet."

"I can't feel my fingers and toes," Iruka informed him darkly. "I'm done for today."

Kakashi nodded, sticking his book back in his weapons pouch. "Lets get you cleaned up, then, and I'll take you out to dinner. Any requests of where?"

Iruka shook his head. Honestly, he didn't feel like going to dinner when every muscle in his body was protesting the abuse it had been put through for nearly thirteen hours, but Kakashi seemed to have his heart set on it so he couldn't bring himself to protest. "Not Ramen, please. Something a little more substantial."

"How about barbeque?"

Iruka closed his eyes wearily, and nodded slowly. "You're going to make me do this again tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Most likely."

"Do you think it's possible to love someone and be contemplating ways to murder them in their sleep at the same time?"

Kakashi laughed nervously, attempting a grin. "I did tell Tsunade having me continue to be your teacher was a bad idea, but she refused to listen to me. Asuma would only agree to continue the bet if nothing changed from before, and I guess she really wants her money."

"I'd pay her double whatever Asuma would owe her if we could stop."

"Somehow, I don't think that carries the same bragging rights."

The chuunin made a noncommittal noise, shakily trying and failing to get back on his feet. Kakashi caught him gently, not allowing him to topple over.

"Here. Put your hands on the rock. It'll help support you."

Iruka nodded, swallowing as the world spun slightly around him. He felt Kakashi kneel down behind him and the chakra thread holding him in place loosen. He groaned as the blood rushed back to his feet and they prickled in response.

"Maybe we should forget dinner tonight," Kakashi said as he stood again, sounding truly apologetic.

Iruka shook his head slowly, righting himself fully. "I like the idea of going out to eat better than the idea of you deciding to cook me something healthy. You're fine when cooking something for taste, but I think if you tried to cook food that would do me good right now it would end very badly."

Kakashi grunted, not wanting to admit it but knowing it was probably true.

"Besides," the chuunin turned halfway to grin at him. "I think a more public place would keep me from wanting to kill you on the spot."

Kakashi grinned nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Come on, Iruka, don't be like that. I wouldn't do this to you if I didn't know you could handle it."

Iruka's smile became a little more genuine then, allowing Kakashi to relax slightly. "I know. That's why I'm going to forgive you, when I'm a little less tired."

Kakashi pouted, knowing Iruka would see it even with his mask in place. They were spending enough time together now that the chuunin was beginning to be able to read him as easily as a children's book, mask or no. It was unnerving and thrilling at the same time. "You mean I'm not forgiven now?"

Iruka leaned forward, all but collapsing against him, and kissed a mask cheek tenderly. "Nope. But you will be."

The copy-nin smiled, shifting Iruka's weight so that the chuunin was pretty much leaning on him for support. "I'll just have to work with that, then. Come on, we need to get walking. I'd just teleport us, but if we don't get your muscles stretched out a bit, they're going to cramp up and that will hurt."

The younger man grunted to show that he knew and understood that. But, as Kakashi was well aware, knowing what and why you had to do something did not necessarily mean you liked it.

It took them nearly an hour and a half to get back to Iruka's apartment, so the sun had mostly set by the time they got back. It was dark when they left for the restaurant, mostly because Iruka had felt the need to lecture Kakashi for half-an-hour about there being a time and a place to help him, and while he was in the shower was neither one of those.

Still the hot water had helped the chuunin relax a great deal, and he was able to walk beside Kakashi with little help from the Jounin in spite of his leg muscles demanding a break.

Once at the restaurant, Kakashi gave his hand a quick squeeze. "I'll go order for us. You go sit down and try to relax."

He nodded in response, even though the other man couldn't see him, and picked a booth in the nearest corner where the two of them could eat in relative peace.

Iruka was resisting the urge to bend down and massage his aching leg muscles when a voice called to him from across the room. Looking up from the table, Iruka could see Asuma, Ino, and Chouji making their way toward him from across the resteraunt.

It took a great deal of Iruka's self restraint not to punch the chain-smoking Jounin right there because, when it boiled right down to it, all the pain he was feeling right now was HIS fault.

Instead, he forced a cheerful smile on his face and just thought of ways he could secretly kill the other man without anyone knowing it was him. "Good evening, Asuma-san. Chouji. Ino."

"Are you here by yourself, Iruka-sensei?" Ino asked, looking around as if expecting Iruka to be hiding his date behind his back.

"Ah," Iruka blushed, looking down at the table. He and Kakashi hadn't yet discussed whether they wanted others to know about their--relationship? If that was even the right word for whatever was between them right now. They hadn't really addressed the feelings between them beyond their confessions, and Iruka supposed if asked he would have to say Kakashi was his boyfriend- but only when asked unless Kakashi told him otherwise. He wasn't sure how to respond, but decided the truth would be best. "I'm here with Kakashi…sensei. Actually."

"Oh, really? I've been meaning to talk to him. Mind if we join you?"

Iruka did mind, actually, but Asuma did not give him a chance to tell him that as he sat down. Chouji and Ino watched as Iruka's eye twitched, both of them remembering very well what THAT meant. Survival instincts were screaming for a swift retreat.

"Uh…I…I have to go to the bathroom!" Ino announced, turning and all but running toward the safety of the women's room.

"I'll guard the door!" Chouji volunteered, not letting himself care about how odd that sounded as he followed her a safe distance away.

Asuma watched his students flee with a raised eyebrow, wondering what had scared them both so bad as he turned back to face Iruka's smiling face. The chuunin looked half-dead on his feet, and was looking at Asuma in an oddly glazed way. If Asuma didn't know how gentle natured the sensei was, he would have sworn the man was envisioning his slow and painful demise.

He was about to comment on it, ask the other man if he needed to lie down for a while, when Kakashi came walking up. From the way his eye narrowed and his mask stretched, Asuma figured it was pretty safe to assume the Copy-ninja wasn't happy to see him. Probably because of what Asuma had to discuss with him.

"What are you doing here, Asuma?"

"He said he had to speak with you," Iruka chimed in sulkily, scooting over slowly so Kakashi could sit next to him.

Asuma watched, a little concerned, Iruka's ginger movements. "What happened to you, Iruka-sensei?"

"We were training today," Kakashi said brightly, sitting down in the offered spot. To anyone who didn't know him, Kakashi would have sounded cheerful. Asuma and Iruka weren't fooled into missing his irritation for a minute. "Because somebody insisted on keeping up the bet with Tsunade."

"That's why I'm here, Kakashi. I wanted to apologize for inconveniencing you. But that woman gave me no choice, honest! She's so sure she's somehow going to impossibly win."

Apologize for inconveniencing **_Kakashi_**? Unless Iruka was mistaken, Kakashi was the one who'd gotten to lay on a rock all day and read while HE was the one inconvenienced by having ROCKS tied to his feet and running in circles! And what did he mean impossibly? Iruka could become a Jounin if he felt like it, damnit!

Kakashi must have sensed the darkening of his mood, and put one his hands on one of Iruka's hand, which were folded in the chuunin's lap under the table- to silence him. He grinned so his eye almost looked like the bow of a rainbow, a sure sign that he wasn't at all pleased.

"It's no trouble to me, Asuma. I like spending time with Iruka."

Iruka blushed, turning his hand to squeeze Kakashi's in gratitude while Asuma gaped at them.

"I think the one you need to apologize too," Kakashi continued, his voice going from alarmingly bright to incredibly serious, "is Iruka-sensei. He's the one doing all the work."

"Iruka-sensei? But he's the one being taught by you! He should be honored!"

Iruka opened his mouth, to protest or say he was he wasn't sure, but Kakashi was faster.

"Did you or Tsunade ever think to ask him whether he wanted to be dragged in to this? Didn't you ever think he might find it **_degrading_** that you considered him the chuunin least likely to advance? That YOU saw him as weak?"

Asuma blinked, his mouth hanging open slightly with his cigarette in danger of falling out of it. Whatever he'd been expecting from Kakashi, this response certainly hadn't been it.

As for Iruka, he was torn between glowing at the fact that Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan of all people was standing up for him and crawling under the table to die of embarrassment that Kakashi was standing up for him like he couldn't do it himself.

"What's gotten in to you, Kakashi?" The brown-eyed Jounin asked, trying to recover some of his dignity. "You seem like you actually care…"

"Maybe I do."

"Oh, I see."

"See what?" Iruka asked, feeling suddenly like he needed to be clued in to the Jounin's thought process.

"You stuck by him on that mission. I must admit, Iruka-sensei, you more than proved your worth there. But I still stand by what I said before. You just haven't got it in you to be a Jounin."

Iruka wasn't sure what to say to that, and squeezed Kakashi's fingers in a silent plea for help.

"I say he does," Kakashi said confidently, grinning behind his mask now. "And he's going to prove it to you."

"He is?"

"I AM?"

"Sure," the silver-haired Jounin smiled; turning so he was partially addressing Iruka now. "Tomorrow, Asuma, you'll spar with him. That should show you just how strong my student as become."

Asuma laughed aloud while Iruka made a couple of strangled noises of protest. He tried to pull his hand away from Kakashi's, but the Jounin held his fingers fast.

"You must be mad, Kakashi! I thought you said you cared about him."

"I do. I wouldn't tell him to do this if I wasn't completely confident he could complete the task." Kakashi was looking at Iruka directly now, his blue-grey eye begging the chuunin to understand and trust him. "I'd never set him up for failure, or ask him to do the impossible. I know his limits better than he does. Iruka can beat you, Asuma, I'm sure of it."

"Will you stop talking like I'm not here," Iruka muttered, even as his cheeks burned. Did Kakashi really have that much faith in him? In how far he'd come? Yes, he was much stronger than he had been, but strong enough to beat Asuma- Sandaime's youngest son?

Asuma looked from one man to the other, feeling like he was missing something between them but not being quite able to figure out what. "You have a great deal of faith in your teaching abilities, don't you, Kakashi?"

"None whatsoever," the Jounin grinned, turning back to the other man. "I have great faith in the abilities of my student."

Iruka wondered if death by blushing was possible, and covered his face with the hand Kakashi didn't currently have in a death grip with a small groan.

Asuma grinned, pulling a fresh cigarette from his pack and lighting it. "Alright, Kakashi, you've got yourself a deal. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll meet at the third training ground and I'll spar with Iruka-sensei. I promise I'll try not hurt him."

"If you do," Kakashi said in his too-happy voice again, "I'm afraid I'd have to repay the favor double to you, Asuma."

Iruka let his head fall on the table with a clunk.


	29. Part 3: Chapter 9

**A/N:** I fail at deadlines…but finals are over, so now I'll finish!

_**All The Broken Pieces  
**__Part III: Chapter 9_

"When I envisioned my first night sleeping over," Kakashi said sulkily, "this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

Iruka couldn't help but grin at the Jounin who was kneeling between Iruka's tan, bare to the knees, legs and rubbing the muscles there gently. "Well, you're the one who told Asuma I'd fight him today."

"Alright, I admit it; I didn't think it completely all the way through. I should have told him later this week."

"Yes, you should have."

"You're still going to win though," Kakashi said confidently, continuing his gentle ministrations.

Iruka sighed, relaxing back on his pillows under the soothing touch, and blew a loose strand of hair out of his face. "For your sake, I hope your right. Asuma will never let you live it down if I fail."

"I know I'm right, don't doubt it. On your stomach."

Iruka rolled over as instructed, and Kakashi began work on the muscles there. This was the routine they'd been going through for most of the night. As soon as they had returned home, Kakashi had done some basic healing jutsu on his torn muscles before they'd gotten into this pattern to keep his muscles from cramping during the night. Every two hours or so, Kakashi would wake Iruka up and have him walk around to keep his muscles loose. After that Iruka would lay back down, and Kakashi would massage them until Iruka fell asleep again.

At first, Kakashi had complained that the chuunin's pants got in the way of his massaging, but when they'd tried it without them, Iruka had gone into a panic response as soon as Kakashi had touched above his knee. Apparently, there were still some deeper issues to deal with from their torture—for himself as well as the chuunin.

Kakashi's hands were getting sore when he looked up at the clock and smiled. He reached up and shook the sleepy chuunin's knee gently. "Hey, it's time to go."

Iruka glanced at the clock, surprised to see it was nearly noon. He sat up, looking at Kakashi in surprise. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I'm used to it. Now come on, let's get changed. I can't wait to see Asuma's face when I'm actually on time for once."

"You're hopeless," Iruka muttered, getting to his feet without any trouble. Whatever Kakashi had been doing all night- and morning it seemed- it appeared to have worked.

Iruka changed quickly into a fresh uniform, pulling his loose hair back, while Kakashi disappeared home for a change of his own clothes. When he came back the pair left, walking side by side toward Training Ground 3—Kakashi with his nose in Icha Icha while Iruka chewed his lip nervously the whole way. Once, the Copy-nin reached over and squeezed his hand reassuringly, and Iruka couldn't help but smile.

Knowing that Kakashi, at least, had faith in him somehow made it seem possible.

Iruka had known, of course, that they would have an audience. There was no way Team 10 would pass up the opportunity to see their sensei actually DO something, and as it was a Sunday Shikamaru wouldn't have to be at the academy.

What he had not expected was for the remainder of the rookie 9 to be there as well. Even Sakura had managed to get the day off to be there, as she was sitting between Ino and Hinata on the grass.

While Iruka gaped at the group in surprise, Kakashi just grinned and waved to them. "You're all very eager for the show, aren't you?"

Sakura seemed to have taken Iruka's lead, and was gaping at her former teacher in surprise. "You…you aren't late!"

"Well, Iruka-sensei has been a good influence on me," Kakashi responded brightly, grinning down at the girl.

"You're so gonna' kick that bastard's ass, Iruka-sensei!" Kiba piped up while Akamaru yipped his agreement. "You're scary as hell when pissed, he doesn't stand a chance."

The chuunin wasn't sure whether to be flattered or exasperated, but he had to smile. Having Kiba here was almost like having Naruto, and that was somehow comforting. What would the blond say if he could see him now? "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Kiba."

"You're just mad Asuma-sensei got to Kurenai-sensei before you did," Ino muttered, almost under her breath.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba shouted over Shino, who looked very annoyed about it if you know what to look for.

"I think you'll do well too, Iruka-sensei," Hinata said quietly, smiling at him.

Coming from Hinata, that meant a lot, and Iruka returned her smile with his own. "Thank you very much, Hinata. I plan to do my best."

"What do you think, Shikamaru-kun?" Kakashi asked, amused by how much Iruka's students still adored him. When he'd started teaching Team 7 their devotion to their former sensei had annoyed and confused him, but now that he'd gotten close to Iruka as well he couldn't blame them anymore.

"I'm reserving judgment," the lazy chuunin explained from where he was laying on his back. "Previous battles would indicate Asuma-sensei as the winner, but Iruka-sensei has been training with you and he's a hard worker, so maybe he can pull this off."

"Of course he can pull this off," Sakura snapped over at him. "I know Iruka-sensei is a lot stronger than we give him credit for." Here she grinned at him, and Iruka was reminded that she was one of the only genin to see him after he'd returned from that disastrous mission with Kakashi. If she could see how weak he'd been after that and still believe in him, then maybe…

"I'm ready whenever you are, Iruka-sensei," Asuma called from the far end of the field.

"About time you showed up," Kakashi said cheerily. The other Jounin gaped at him momentarily; as if not quite able to believe his eyes that the Copy-nin was actually standing there. With a deep breath, Asuma sucked his cigarette back in and composed himself.

"Here I thought you wouldn't show up until after this was all over, Kakashi."

"And miss this chance? Never."

Iruka took a deep breath of his own, checking that his hitai-ate was tied securely as he took his stance on his side of the field. "I'm all set Asuma-san."

Kakashi gave him one last smile, which the younger man was fairly certain he was the only one that could see, before stepping up. "Alright then, if you're both ready…"

Each of them nodded once, and Iruka clenched his fists. He could do this. He would do this.

Kakashi raised his arm, and then lowered it in his signal to start, "begin!"

Asuma raced forward first, his fists raised so the sun glinted off trench knives as he ran forward. Iruka remained standing where he was until it would be too late for Asuma to quickly change directions and vault over his head, missing the blades by inches.

He hadn't counted on them being extended with chakra, however, and gasped slightly when his vest ripped and it cut his face. Those called for a completely different strategy entirely—namely, get the blades away from the Jounin as fast as possible.

Iruka darted to the side as Asuma came at him again, amazed at just how much his speed had improved since Kakashi had taken Konohamaru what seemed like a life time ago. He was definitely faster than Asuma was, which was impressive, and he could use that to his advantage. If he could keep this up, he could wear the other shinobi down and maybe cause him to make a mistake.

Even if it did mean running around like a coward for several minutes in front of his former students.

Kakashi grinned as Iruka ducked and rolled out of the way, tossing a kunai at Asuma that the Jounin blocked. It appeared Iruka was hesitating in attacking, but the Copy-nin was fairly certain his student was just testing the waters. He knew better than to rush into a fight with a potentially stronger opponent without a battle plan; something he certainly hadn't learned from Kakashi.

"Asuma-sensei is in over his head," Shikamaru observed, sitting up partly so he could watch. "He could probably win if he wasn't underestimating Iruka-sensei, and was actually aiming to hurt him instead of playing with him, but he isn't. He'll probably lose."

"What if he gets serious later?" Chouji asked, reaching into his pocket for a new bag of chips.

"Iruka-sensei is smart," Sakura answered. "He'll have a plan by then, and Asuma-sensei won't stand a chance."

Kakashi could see the admiration in her eyes as she glanced his way, and he shrugged. He really hadn't done anything but show Iruka he had potential. A little bit of confidence could go a long way.

Iruka whipped out a kunai, blocking Asuma's trench knifes from getting to close to his face and angled so the extended ends were facing away from him.

"I have to admit, Iruka-sensei," Asuma grinned, his cigarette having vanished from his mouth at some point, "you're much better than I expected. Kakashi's done well."

Iruka didn't respond to that, and instead dropped low in an attempt to trip the Jounin up. Asuma avoided the attack easily, swiping at Iruka's head when the kunai was removed and the blades snapped the hair tie so Iruka's long hair fell in his face. He rolled away as Asuma tried to kick him, and brushed a few long strands out of his eyes.

"Oh," he distantly heard Ino squeal loudly, "Iruka-sensei is so handsome with his hair down like that!"

"Ew, he's like, twelve years older than us," Kiba responded.

"Doesn't stop you from having a crush on Kurenai-sensei."

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?"

Iruka decided it was best to tune them out again as he crossed his fingers in front of himself, concentrating fully on the Jounin now coming to a stop in front of him. Gathering his chakra, he couldn't help but grin. "Kage buunshin no jutsu!"

Kakashi mentally sent Naruto a thank you message as three clones of Iruka appeared beside the chuunin, and cheered inside that Iruka had good chakra control to produce the maximum amount of clones with as little chakra as possible.

All four Iruka's set off at once, gathering speed and their paths tangling. Kakashi recognized it as the same trick Iruka had used on him in the water, and wondered how he was going to make it work this time.

He didn't have to wonder long as, using another clone for a shield, Iruka first created another clone, a regular one this time, before darting around to the side and into Asuma's blind spot to circle around from behind. To Asuma, and probably the kids too with the speed Iruka and his clones were going, it would look simply like there were still four Iruka's charging at him.

Kakashi could see the confident look on Asuma's face, so certain he knew which one was the real Iruka, and grinned to himself.

The brown-eyed Jounin swung his enhanced blades wide, the blades themselves quite extended, and then stared in shock as all four of the Iruka's in front of him disappeared with little puffs of smoke.

"Where…"

He didn't get to finish his question as Iruka latched onto his back from behind. He felt the chuunin grabbing for his wrist and twisted, getting a hand caught in the smaller man's shirt and threw him over his head with that grip.

Iruka flipped midair to land on his feet, dragging one hand along the ground to slow his skid. He grinned as he looked up at Asuma through a curtain of brown hair, with a confident look in his eyes the Jounin could never remember having seen before. He held up one hand, and, though it was bleeding, in his palm Asuma could see one of his knives.

He looked at his hand—the one he'd used to throw the chuunin—in surprise, and realized Iruka had used the moment of his throw to slide the knife off his hand while mid-flip in the air without him noticing.

The chuunin now twisted his hand so he now had a good grip on the blade, suddenly looking almost frightening as he continued to grin. "Are you done warming up, Asuma-san, or would you like a few more minutes?"

Asuma stared at him, speechless, as did their audience until Kiba and Akamaru all but leaped in the air with an almost howl.

"Oh yeah, Iruka-sensei kicks ass!"

Hinata wasn't far behind him, quickly on her feet as well. "You can do it, Iruka-sensei!"

It didn't take long for Asuma to compose himself, and he charged at the other man with a far more serious look on his face than he'd had before. Even as he did so, however, he realized it was probably too late for him to regain control of the situation as Iruka met his blade with the one he'd taken, exuding raw power to match his own.

Now he was the one on the defensive as Iruka attacked, the trench knife in one hand and a kunai in the other. Asuma had to duck and spin repeatedly as the knives sliced the air, missing him by only a breath. Twice he had blocked on weapon on to find the other coming directly at him. In either case, it was keeping his hand hands to busy to perform the seals needed for a jutsu.

Iruka was bearing down on him again, and Asuma raised his remaining knife against the attack, using both hands to brace it and keep the younger man's sharp weapons away from his face. Iruka pushed off his hands, using it to flip away again, and Asuma turned to follow his movements, now exhausted by the speed and just a little to slow. He turned just in time to catch Iruka's horizontal kick straight to his face which sent him sprawling.

The kids cheered while Asuma sat up dizzily, rubbing his aching jaw and looking at the grinning Iruka in surprise.

"Ready to admit I was right, Asuma?" Kakashi asked, his grinning masked face suddenly appearing in Asuma's view.

The Jounin mentally tallied the injuries. Iruka was still worse off than he was but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep going at the rate they had been. Probably better just to quit now instead of suffering humiliating defeat. "Alright, Kakashi, I take it back. I never should have doubted your teaching abilities."

"And…"

"And what?" He asked, before Kakashi shot him a glare full of murderous intent. Oh…right. "And, I'm sorry for ever doubting you, Iruka-sensei. You're more than capable of being a Jounin of Konoha, and I'd be honored to have you on my team any time. I'll never underestimate you again."

Iruka grin turned less triumphant and more elated as the shock of the situation began to sink in. He'd done it. He'd actually got one of the Jounin to surrender to him. Almost bouncing, he handed the trench knife back to Asuma. "No hard feelings, Asuma-san! I guess you have to pay Tsunade now, ne?"

"Not unless you actually pass the Jounin exam," Asuma said, scratching the back of his head. "But I should start collecting the money because I know you will, especially since I gave you that extension. Kakashi will have you at top Jounin shape in no time."

Iruka's grin broadened as he turned to Kakashi, who grinned right back.

"I told you that you could do it."

"Only because he quit then," Iruka whispered to him as the kids went to go tease the chain-smoking Jounin, who was in fact lighting up another cigarette as they spoke. "I couldn't have kept the rate I was going at up much longer."

Kakashi gave his shoulder a fond squeeze, "I know that, and you know that, but Asuma doesn't have to, ne?"


	30. Part 3: Chapter 10

**A/N:** This is the last chapter. Oh my gosh! I'm done! Thank you all so much for making this my longest (and most popular) story to date and I hope you all enjoyed the ride as much as I did!

I haven't written battle scenes in a while, so I'm a bit rusty. I almost wanted to cop out and not do it, but I felt that would be cheating you all some how. So, you better appreciate the effort!

-Reggie

_**All the Broken Pieces  
**__Part III: Chapter 10_

He wouldn't have said it was raining, exactly, but there was no chance Iruka was going to meet Kakashi on their last day of training with out an umbrella when everything was soaking wet. Walking outside was rather like attempting to walk close to- but not yet in- a waterfall. He opened his black umbrella immediately upon stepping outside and started heading towards the memorial stone.

As a rule, he'd left Kakashi alone after he'd learned the older man spent his mornings there. He respected the Jounin's wish to be alone with his ghosts. He knew that feeling only too well. But Kakashi had specifically asked him to be early that day, and the chuunin really couldn't very well tell the man no.

He set of down the street at a brisk jog, easily avoiding the deepest puddles and only allowing his sandals to become mildly soaked. It was mid-October by now, and while Konoha never got as cold as he remembered Mist being, the idea of having soaking wet and frozen toes was not on the appealing side.

Of course, neither was the idea of finishing training with Kakashi. True, he'd managed to master Chidori the day before, and true he was so much stronger now that he didn't really recognize himself sometimes. He had to resist showing off to his students just because now he knew he could. Time was up, anyway, even if there had been a reason to keep going.

What he was going to miss, though, was the convenient excuse to spend hours in the company of his—he'd finally decided the all purpose 'significant other' would work here—and then another several hours after that cuddling and talking. He hated to lose such an easy and inconspicuous way to meet up.

Guess they'd soon have to exercise their creativity if they wanted to keep this discrete—which both of them did. Kakashi wasn't the only one with powerful enemies that would do anything to take away what he loved the most. It was the same reason he'd hesitated to show Naruto the affection the boy so craved, until he was fairly certain he could handle the least of those enemies.

Iruka smiled as he used his chakra to walk across a particularly large puddle blocking his path, all the while scolding himself for such a useless waste of his resources. But it sure was fun.

The field was still and completely empty except for Kakashi, who was standing there dripping wet. He hadn't even brought an umbrella.

At a less solemn moment, Iruka would have teased the older man about his lack of preparation. The slump in Kakashi's shoulder, the way he didn't look up when Iruka walked into the clearing, almost made him want to anyway, just to try and make some of that tension disappear. Instead, he walked up silently and held his umbrella over both of them.

Kakashi didn't move or look up, nothing more than a slight shift in his stance gave any indication that he knew Iruka was there.

They stood in silence for a long time, Iruka allowing his eyes to wander over the familiar names of his parents and friends. Wouldn't they be impressed if they could see him now? Actually, Hayate would probably laugh at him.

Kakashi half turned to look at him, allowing him to see the uncovered Sharingan, and the tears it was leaking. It created the odd sensation of giving Kakashi a look of having two separate faces; something that Iruka knew was almost true. The eyes blinked, and Iruka got an eerie sense of déjà vu. Like last time he was here, in some other life time so long ago, when he'd seen that eye the first time. It had been chilly and rainy then too.

Just like before, too, the eye was pleading with him. There was pain there, deep and brutally unyielding.

He didn't run this time. Instead, Iruka stepped a fraction closer and slid his hand softly into Kakashi's. Maybe he could not remove that pain, but he could let his lover know that he no longer had to face it alone.

The rain had picked up a little, beating a steady rhythm against the top of the umbrella, when Kakashi decided to speak again. His voice was hoarse, as though he'd been crying, even though they both knew he hadn't. "I don't even know which people I come to visit anymore. I've lost count of how many of those names I should be able to put faces to, but can't any longer."

Iruka squeezed the hand in his. "But you still care about them enough to hurt, 'Kashi, and that's more than they would ever ask of you."

The silver-haired Jounin let out a shaky breath before reaching up and pulling his hitai-ate back down. He turned to smile at Iruka, giving his hand another squeeze before letting go. "I believe we have one last bout of training, Sensei?"

Iruka snorted at playful tone in the other man's voice as he said his title. Only Kakashi could pull off that tone with that innocent of an expression on his face. "That is sort of the deal isn't…"

He found himself interrupted by the soft jingle of a bell, and this time groaned as he looked at the little object bouncing in Kakashi's hand. "So, you've officially run out of ideas, have you?"

"I like symmetry," came the easy smile back. "Besides, no better way to truly test how far you've come."

"You're ridiculous."

"You know that."

"Better than anyone." Iruka frowned out at the drizzle that was now a downpour. "We're going to get wet, aren't we?"

"Oh, don't turn into a cat on me now. Pakkun wouldn't like that."

"Why is it I almost always get wet when I'm with you?"

"Well…"

"You answer that, Hatake, and I'll hit you in the mouth."

Kakashi snickered, feeling the tight coil of tension in his chest ease as he did so. Maybe he should invite Iruka to come with him more often, if it was going to have this effect on him every time. "If you want this bell, you'll have to do more than that."

Resigned now to his fate, Iruka lowered his umbrella and ran to put it under one of the trees before turning to face Kakashi, dropping into his attack stance, fighting the grin that came to his face when he saw the annoyed look the Jounin was giving the silver-hair that was drooping in his face. "Whenever you're ready, Kakashi-sensei."

"Now who's making that sound dirty," came the pouty response. "Go ahead, Iruka."

The Chuunin leaped up, soundlessly, into the branches above his head, but didn't remain there long as he leaped at top speed from branch to branch. Kakashi wasn't turning his head to follow him, but Iruka knew that he was at best only a tree or two behind his movement—if at all.

He dropped back two trees, relying on the back-tracking to throw the Jounin off slightly, before darting out of the tree at top speed and launching a barrage of kunai at where the Jounin stood, no longer afraid that Kakashi wouldn't dodge.

For a second, it appeared as though some of the kunai had hit home, but Iruka didn't have time to process this fully before the clone turned into a puddle of water and he had to get moving again.

If Kakashi had left that clone, then he was in serious trouble.

Iruka managed to duck the kick that was aimed at his head with a neat drop to the ground, lashing out with his feet as he fell to try and trip the Jounin up. Kakashi stepped back neatly, but Iruka was already moving again.

There was no hesitation this time as he lashed out at his opponent, blocking and throwing punches and kicks blow for blow. At some point, Kakashi must have pulled out a kunai, but Iruka didn't notice until an inch or two was neatly removed from the end of his pony-tail.

He dropped back; unsheathing his own weapon before reengaging his opponent with an echoing sound of steel-on-steel filled the morning air. The Chuunin pushed more chakra into his feet, using the extra boost to launch himself over the Jounin's head. He landed on his hands and kicked out, donkey-style. Kakashi stumbled forward slightly, his feet sliding into the muddy puddle just as Iruka had planned.

He rolled into a crouch, quickly forming the sequence of hand signals required to cause the water in the puddle to turn into a sticky goo.

Kakashi was faster, his gloved hands a blur as he raced through the signs for his Doton Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu. Iruka cursed softly as the other man disappeared under the ground. He raced for the trees, but not quite fast enough as the Copy-nin grabbed his ankle and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Kakashi was on top of him, pinning the Chuunin neatly to the ground with a kunai at his throat, before he had time to think of retaliating.

They stared at each other, neither really concerned about the kunai's position since both knew Kakashi was far too skilled to actually hurt Iruka unless he wanted to.

"I don't want you to take the Jounin exam." Kakashi said after several moments of silence.

"What?"

"You're good enough now, we both know that…but I don't want you to."

Iruka placed his hands on his hips, unconsciously adopting his best 'I-am-your-sensei-so-you-better-not-lie-to-ME' stance, as he tried to glare the older man down. "Explain. Now."

"You could do it, Iruka, but _**I**_ can't. I couldn't…if anything happened to you…I couldn't…."

Iruka's face softened as he saw his lover choking on the words that were trying to come out of his mouth. He stepped forward and gently took the gloved hands in his own.

"You want me to be safe."

"You're so happy here, with your children, and the higher class missions would take you away from them. Away from me. Maybe…"

"Maybe forever." Iruka frowned. Kakashi was right, as usual. He had the skills now, as far as power went, but he certainly didn't have the experience. Jumping from Academy Sensei with almost no missions to a Jounin continual A-Rank missions—the eleven Iruka had already been on gave him nightmares as it was. He would probably get himself killed, power or not, and the last thing he wanted was to give Kakashi one more name to visit everyday.

The Jounin just nodded, seemingly unable to bring himself to say the words.

Iruka didn't respond for a long time, but then leaned forward and kissed the masked mouth gently. Kakashi responded instantly and almost half whimpered when he found the mask blocking him.

Iruka chuckled a little, reaching up to pull the other's mask down. "If you don't want me too, I won't."

He kissed Kakashi again, this time making full use of the lack of cloth. Kakashi grinned into the kiss, eagerly allowing the Chuunin full access to his mouth…until he heard the jingle of a bell by his ear. He pulled away, surprised, and his blue eye widened as the little silver sphere danced in front of his vision, held there by two brown fingers.

"But, if you don't want me to tell everyone that I got this from you," Iruka grinned cheekily, pulling the bell close to his chest before Kakashi decided to snatch it from him, "you'll make sure Tsunade and Asuma accept this idea, so we aren't dragged into anymore horrendous bets. And," here, Iruka removed a bright orange book from behind his back, "if you want this back, you'll remember to never under-estimate me."

If possible, Kakashi's visible eye widened further and he reached automatically into his pouch to find it empty. "That's cheating!"

"A ninja must know their adversary," the Chuunin grinned wickedly, "and know how to exploit his weaknesses terribly."

Kakashi growled in response, reaching out to pull his laughing and dripping wet student, best friend, and lover in for another kiss.

--The End--


End file.
